Tales of the Tamers: Dimension Crisis
by Basara-Jay
Summary: Who would've thought five years could change so much? People they once knew they know no more, and they begin to discover new things about themselves and each other as their dimension is prepped for an adventure the likes of which its never seen before.
1. The Start of Something

_**Tales of the Tamers: Act I  
Prologue: The Start of Something**_

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 **Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon, that should be obvious. The only thing I own is the idea for this story, so enjoy.**

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 ** _?_**

For the second time in his life Takato Matsuki was floating, arms spread wide in a dream-like world. Just like the last time five years ago when this happened, he was floating up above an alleyway at night, and just like the last time, the fiery redhead Rika Nonaka and her kitsune-like Digimon partner Renamon were fighting another Digimon. At least, Takato assumed it was another Digimon. He had never seen anything like it before.

It looked like a bipedal goat wearing a brown breastplate with gold detailing, and gauntlets of the same style. He wielded a golden staff with a crescent blade at the end of it, and by the look of confusion on Rika's face, Takato could tell that her Digivice wasn't giving her any data on it.

' _What is going on, why am I dreaming of Rika again?'_ Takato wondered to himself.

The shaggy haired teen looked back down at Rika and his crimson eyes softened and his lips contorted into a small frown. He shook his head clear of the memories and looked over to Renamon who was standing just behind Rika clutching her left arm which looked to be seriously hurt. Takato's brow furrowed at that, the other Digimon sure didn't look any higher than a Champion level which Renamon could easily handle even though she was just a Rookie herself.

"Renamon," Rika said worriedly, "I'm out of cards, and we may have to fall back." The redhead looked at the goat Digimon and gritted her teeth, she knew that in Renamon's current state she wouldn't be able to Digivolve and without the right modify cards she wouldn't be able to heal her injuries.

Takato looked on with curious eyes, wondering what Rika would do. The Rika he knew from five years ago when he'd first met her would have most likely forced Renamon to fight and win, but that was in the past and she had grown a lot in a short time. Now he could see that she was trying to look for a safe way to escape but the frustrated look on her face revealed easily that even she couldn't see a way to get away without him chasing. She pulled some cards out of the pack she had on her belt and sifted through them, looking for anything useful at all.

For the first time since he had appeared in this dream state, Takato saw the goat Digimon move. It rushed forward with blinding speed past Rika and slapped Renamon away. Neither Tamer nor Digimon were expecting the sudden move and so Renamon wasn't left with any time to react accordingly. Rika turned around to run to Renamon but the Digimon shoved her to the ground and quickly moved to stand over the top of her, brandishing his crescent bladed staff over his head and preparing to swing down.

Takato tried to call out to Renamon or to at least try and distract the Digimon from attacking Rika, but instead the world rushed around him and the night sky grew brighter and he shot up with a startled yelp. Frantically looking around he realised he had fallen asleep in Shinjuku Park in the shade just off the path amongst some trees.

' _That sure was a weird dream,'_ Takato thought to himself with a smile.

"Not like any of it actually happened though, I mean, I have weird dreams kinda like this all the time. It's been a long time since I actually fought a Digimon too." His smile grew wider at that.

After the defeat of the D-Reaper, due to a program that was implanted in Terriermon by Janyuu Wong, all the Digimon partners of the Shinjuku Tamers were reverted to their In-Training forms and sent back to the Digital World, much to the dismay of the unaware children. For a while Takato had hated Janyuu and the other Monster Makers for what they'd done without telling them, but eventually he came to terms with how it was just how things had turned out and that he couldn't change them.

"What's wrong Takato?" A voice asked from beside him.

He looked over at his crimson dinosaur partner, Guilmon, and smiled. One day four years ago, a few of the partner Digimon had come back. Guilmon, Terriermon, and Renamon had arrived and sought out Takato, Henry, and Rika. The three Tamers extremely happy that their Digimon had returned. Yamaki – the old head of the secret government agency for monitoring Digimon activity in the real world, Hypnos – had found out and recruited Shibumi of the Monster Makers once again to help him figure out how they had returned, and where exactly they were. After extensive and difficult research, Shibumi had discovered something that shocked some of the Tamers, and it would inadvertently drive a wedge right through them.

He had discovered that only Takato, Rika, and Henry's partners had returned to the real world. This meant that Ai and Mako's, Kazu, Kenta, Ryo, and Suzie's partners were still in the Digital World. It wasn't long after they had returned that the partnerless Tamers had found out that their partners hadn't returned and though they tried their best not to let it happen, Kazu and Kenta had let jealousy get to them and drifted away from Takato and Henry. Also as a result, Henry avoided taking his small rabbit-dog partner Terriermon home with him so that his younger sister Suzie didn't become sad due to her almost identical to Terriermon partner Digimon, Lopmon, not returning. Though she already knew about it, he still couldn't bring himself to have Terriermon around the house as a reminder to the young girl.

Over the course of the years, Takato and Henry had tried to get in contact with Ryo a number of times. But the boy had mysteriously disappeared yet again, and his father would always give the boys really vague answers as to where he went, giving them nothing to go off. Henry had speculated that he had somehow found a way to the Digital World and went to look for Cyberdramon, but Yamaki and Shibumi had assured the boys that it was completely impossible due to no digital portals being open anywhere anymore, so once again, Ryo Akiyama had become an enigma.

"Nothing much, Guilmon. I was just thinking," Takato gave his partner a reassuring smile and shifted himself to rest his back against a tree trunk, letting himself fall back into his thoughts yet again with a yawn.

He thought back to the dream he had just had and how it was so similar to the one he'd had when he first became a Digimon Tamer, before Guilmon's Digi-Egg even hatched.

' _It's been so long since I've spoken Rika, and we got to the same school at that.'_

Upon reaching high school, Rika had transferred out of the all-girls private school that she'd attended and went to a public school. Turns out, she enrolled in the same school as Takato, Henry, and Kazu. Kenta's father had gotten a new job and it required his family to move to Nagano. Takato and Henry were in the same class, but Rika and Kazu were in separate classes. For a long while Takato, Rika, and Henry always hung out during lunch and after school but due to the fact that no Digimon could emerge into the real world anymore, they often found themselves bored with nothing to do so they ended up beginning to teach their Digimon the card game. Takato laughed to himself at the memory of Guilmon awkwardly trying to handle the cards with his claws.

' _Too bad those times couldn't last forever. It's just Henry and I now…'_ he frowned and looked at the people walking down the path.

Two years ago Takato had managed to make Rika so mad that she had actually punched him in the jaw, after that she had begun to avoid him and only rarely spoke to Henry. He always wondered what would've happened if all of the Digimon had come back, perhaps everyone would've been able to stay friends and the Shinjuku Tamers wouldn't have fallen apart as a group. Just maybe if a digital portal were to open and the other Digimon came back then they could all go back to how they were instead of petty jealousy and ignorance.

' _Though I guess I do deserve Rika ignoring me,'_ Takato brought his hand up to his jaw and rubbed it. It was as if he could still feel the impact to this very day.

"Guess I shouldn't have pushed her so hard that day. If only I'd taken her feelings into consideration a little more maybe at least she'd still be friends with Henry and me." Takato was distracted by a growling noise and at first thought it was Guilmon sensing something dangerous, but when he turned to look at his partner, the little dinosaur was rubbing his stomach with an exasperated look on his face. Takato laughed and stood up.

"Shall we go back home and get food?" he asked him, Guilmon responding by drooling and having stars in his eyes.

Takato smiled at him and put his hands in his pockets, motioning for Guilmon to follow him with a movement of his head. The little dinosaur Digimon only came up to Takato's waist now, when five years ago Guilmon used to be his height if he stood up straight. The two walked in silence through the park, the only noise between them being the occasional growl from Guilmon's stomach. It wouldn't take them long to get out of the park and on the streets towards Takato's house above the bakery his parents owned, Matsuki Bakery.

While they were walking through the streets of Shinjuku, Takato thought about how used to Digimon being around that some people were now compared to when they had first returned. When they had first come back the three Tamers would walk around with them in the open, though Renamon would still prefer to keep watch on Rika and the others either from the shadows or via the use of her Kohenkyo ability. For a while it had caused a huge fuss with the residents of Shinjuku and neighbouring cities, and the Tamers couldn't blame them considering what people around the world had gone through when the gelatinous destructive mass D-Reaper attacked but after almost a year going by with no wild Digimon attacks to account for, people stopped caring and the Tamers began to walk with them in the open again, though a scarce few people would still look at the monsters with disdain or fear and cross the street when they approached.

While walking, Takato heard a young child complaining about the weather to his disinterested mother and could've sworn he sounded like Terriermon when they told him that he had to stay with Guilmon at the old hideout in Shinjuku Park from now on. Initially Guilmon had been staying at Takato's house with him, but when Suzie started to get more upset that Lopmon wasn't around, Henry and Terriermon had decided that Terriermon should stay with Guilmon, and while Takato's parents could handle one bread devouring goof, two of them were just too much trouble to keep around, so the old hideout had become their best option. The two boys felt badly for them during the cold nights of winter so had saved up money and brought the two of them some furnishings to put in there after Guilmon had dug it out further. They now had futons and even a couch in there for the two of them, and the two boys still brought them bread from the Matsuki Bakery each day as Takato used to do for Guilmon in the beginning.

Takato rounded a corner near to home and was stopped when Guilmon tugged at the fabric of both his blue button down shirt that he wore unbuttoned and his white undershirt. Takato stopped and looked down at him with an eyebrow raised. He readjusted his goggles hanging from his neck and smiled.

"What's up, Guilmon? We're almost home." But Guilmon just shook his head and pointed across the street at a girl reading a poster.

"It's Rika!" He smiled.

Takato followed Guilmon's claw, and sure enough across the street Rika was standing reading a poster taped to a signpost. Her hair was tied back in the same spiked ponytail that she'd had since they were younger and she still wore jeans with her usual brown belts around her waist and her left thigh, though she stopped wearing her heart shirt and now usually just wore a white shirt with long blue sleeves. He though back to the day Rika had punched him and began ignoring him and rethought his plan to cross the street and talk to her. Takato shook his head clear of his doubts.

' _I've spent the entire day thinking about that past and whishing things were back to how they were, and the only way that's gonna happen is if I suck it up and do something about it.'_ Upon succumbing to one of his bouts of sudden confidence, Takato quickly crossed the road and made his way towards Rika, who hadn't yet noticed him walking up behind her though Renamon did from her position on the rooftops. She decided not to interfere though. Glancing at the poster as he got closer to her, he saw that it was for the upcoming card tournament, and realised why Rika was looking at it.

"H-hey, Rika," Takato called out to her with an uncomfortable stutter. "Thinking of entering the card tournament this year?" He asked, Rika's shoulders tensing up due to being surprised. She whirled around to see who it was and sighed when she locked eyes with Takato.

"Oh, it's you." She said flatly, leaning back against the pole and folding her arms across her chest.

"Yeah, nice to see you too, Rika." Takato laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head.

"What do you want, goggle brain?" Rika huffed, her patience already wearing thin.

"Well, you never answered my question. I saw you looking at the poster for it and figured I'd ask. It's tomorrow right?" He asked.

"If you must know, yes, I have entered. And I plan to walk all over the competition." She added with a smirk.

Takato laughed, remembering how when he and Henry had first met Rika, whenever she'd enter a fight with Renamon she'd tell her partner to walk all over them. Now that he thought about it, it was sort of like a catchphrase for her back then.

"It wouldn't be a proper Digimon Card Tournament if Rika Nonaka didn't enter after all." Rika's smirk disappeared and she raised an eyebrow at the now slightly taller teenager.

"What are you trying to do, Takato?" She asked, her tone now serious. She and Takato hadn't spoken properly in at least two years.

"What do you mean?" He asked, tilting his head at an angle.

"Why just randomly talk to me? After two years, do you just think its fine to talk to me like everything is okay…?" Rika looked down at the ground, purposely trying to avoid eye contact with Takato, and he looked up to the sky at the setting sun as he thought over what he was going to say.

"You know, I've been thinking about it a lot this afternoon actually," he started, looking to the road and watching the people walk past and cars drive by. Rika looked up at him in curiosity. "I was remembering about how everything went wrong and how we all just kind of fell apart as a group. Sure, some of it may have been out of our control like with Kenta and Jeri living so far away, but it still just feels wrong that we all went through so much for it to come to nothing in the end. You know?"

Takato looked back to Rika with an awkward smile on his face, a blush of embarrassment crept onto his cheeks when he saw that she was looking at him intently, most likely hoping for him to elaborate more. Rika unfolded her arms and took a few steps closer to Takato with narrowed eyes.

"Tell you what, Gogglehead, you're coming to the tournament tomorrow." Rika nodded to herself and began to walk away without looking back. Takato was taken aback and called out after her.

"B-But it's too late for me to register!" Rika stopped walking and shook her head before turning around to look at him again.

"Then I guess you're just going to have to be moral support until you and I can have a match afterwards. We'll see if you've gotten any better in the past years, and if you haven't then you're going to get your ass kicked." Rika kicked towards him as a demonstration and Takato remembered five years ago she had done the same thing when he mentioned dreaming about her. With that she turned on her heel and walked away again, this time a little faster so he couldn't call out to her again.

' _We'll see how badly he wants to fix things.'_ She smirked, laughing to herself inside.

' _Hmm, even after all this time I sometimes still don't understand you, Rika.'_ Renamon mused to herself as she phased back into the visible plane of existence and followed her Tamer from the rooftops.

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 ** _West Shinjuku – Rika's House_**

Not too long after her encounter with Takato and Guilmon on the street, Rika had made it home. She'd picked up the pace at one point, wanting to get home before the sun completely set so that she could sit in the garden as it disappeared behind the skyline of Shinjuku – which she was now doing. Over the years she had grown to love sitting in her families' garden surrounding the koi pond as the sun set, it gave her a quiet time to think and it also doubled as what she thought was one of the most beautiful spots in the city.

' _Though I guess that's a little bias, but whatever.'_

She craned her neck to look at Renamon who was sitting on the railing of the wooden bridge, the kitsune also enjoying the serenity of the Nonaka family garden. Renamon looked over to Rika and the two locked eyes.

"So you were very civil with Takato this afternoon." Renamon said flatly, looking back to the sky. Rika raised an eyebrow at that.

"What of it?" she asked.

"You used to just ignore him until that evolved into avoiding him completely."

"What he said kinda opened my eyes for a brief moment, I guess." Rika replied, leaning back on her elbows on the soft grass.

"I guess lately I've been wondering what happened to everyone as well. Though I could definitely go without hearing Kazu again." Rika chuckled to herself and Renamon smiled, she knew the spiky haired loudmouth could get on her Tamers' nerves sometimes, but when it came to it she knew Rika still thought Kazu was her friend. Well, teammate at least.

"So does that mean you've forgiven Takato?" the kitsune questioned, she understood why Rika had hit Takato that day, but she didn't think that Rika was seriously still holding a grudge against him all this time. Rika huffed and blew out her cheeks.

"Well, I forgave him ages ago to be completely honest, but I guess I still just want him to apologise. If he does when he turns up tomorrow to watch the tournament then he must really be serious about being upset that we've all fallen apart as a group. Besides, I'm sure Henry would feel the same too." Renamon gazed at her Tamer with pride, it amazed her how much Rika had matured over the years. If they hadn't gone through the things they did when they had first met, she felt that Rika may have not gotten over her grudge so easily, but was glad she was willing to.

' _After all, he was the one who wanted us to be a team in the first place.'_ Rika smiled inwardly at that thought.

Renamon herself also missed those days where their group would hang around and goof about, though she loved it because while everyone was distracted it gave her time to relax or explore. Though there was no danger from Wild Ones present anymore, she still spent her days keeping watch over Rika from the shadows and rooftops. She was smarter than to think that peace could last forever.

' _Besides, Digimon aren't the only dangerous beings, humans themselves are a danger too.'_ Since she had become a lot more domesticated over the years, Renamon had decided to pay more attention to the news and events around the city and discovered that humans could also be a danger to themselves and each other.

"That makes sense to me." Renamon replied with a nod.

' _Let's see how badly you want to fix things, Takato.'_ Rika smiled, standing up and walking to her room.

Renamon watched her go, and when the redhead waved goodnight and closed her door, Renamon leapt the wall of the property and went for a walk around the city, something she often enjoyed most nights. She loved the freedom of the human world now and enjoyed that her nights wouldn't be interrupted by a random Digimon attack, but she often found herself bored. There was only so much of the city that she could see over and over and over again and she there was a limit to how far she was willing to explore out, preferring to stay within Shinjuku in case Rika needed her in an emergency.

She leapt from building to building, loving the wind blowing through her fur as she fell through the air to a lower building. Renamon was always the most agile of the partner Digimon and her swift movements and graceful footing always helped her to get around quickly and easily. Only Rapidmon, Terriermon's Ultimate form and Cyberdramon, Ryo's Ultimate level partner, were faster than her out of the Tamers' partners and she took a little bit of pride in that.

Nearing closer to Shinjuku Park, Renamon changed course, decided at a moment's notice that there's somewhere else she'd rather go to right at this moment. She continued her rooftop run, using street lights to make her way across the road, having no interest in walking the streets normally. She came to an abrupt stop when she landed on the balcony to the bedroom of Takato Matsuki. The kitsune raised a paw and lightly tapped on the window, hoping that Takato was inside, she was patient but she didn't like the idea of standing at Takato's window waiting for him when she could be out traveling the city.

She was relieved when a moment later the blinds moved aside and an awe-struck Takato noticed her outside. In a moment he'd opened the window and invited Renamon inside, the kitsune moving over to lean against the wall next to Takato's desk, Takato himself sitting in the chair.

"So, uh, what brings you here Renamon? Gotta be honest, that's the last thing I expected tonight. But then again – I did run in to Rika earlier and we actually had a conversation." Takato laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head, something he did often in a situation where he felt awkward.

"I actually came to talk to you about Rika." Renamon looked around Takato's room for a brief second and noticed that Guilmon was missing. She surmised that he was most likely downstairs in the bakery eating all the bread from today that couldn't be sold tomorrow.

"Uh, sure, go ahead…" Renamon nodded.

"You must really want to fix things with Rika." She said plainly.

"Well, yeah, but not just Rika. Hopefully everyone eventually!" Takato smiled and looked around at all his art supplies and schoolwork scattered on his desk, smiling to himself at the prospect of the team being together again.

"You know, not turning up for Rika when she was counting on you and then saying what you did really affected her." Takato turned in his chair to look at Renamon and frowned.

"I didn't take in to consideration how important it was to her at the time, and then because I was, well, me… It just made things worse afterwards. But when Rika snapped I realised what I'd done wrong. I'll make it right though." Renamon nodded in approval, she noted how Takato over the years had matured as well, though he still was an awkward kid who had a habit of not thinking before he spoke, he would still find a way to make things right eventually.

' _Even if it_ did _take him two years…'_

"I'm glad to hear that, Takato. I shall leave now though, if you're going to make the card tournament tomorrow then it would be smart for you to get some rest." Takato smiled and nodded as Renamon stepped out of his room and leapt away.

He wasn't sure what to expect from the Digimon Card Tournament tomorrow, but he had a gut feeling it was gonna be one hell of a day.


	2. To Be Forgiven

_**Tales of the Tamers: Act I  
Chapter 01: To Be Forgiven**_

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 ** _Akihabara_**

After Renamon's surprise visit last night, Takato had sat up for a while thinking about everything. He was now on his way to the card tournament, already having arrived in Akihabara a while ago. He was a little early so he figured it would be nice to walk around and look at all the stores for a while, he had gotten breakfast from his parents' bakery so had avoided food stores and maid cafes in case he was tempted to waste his money. Besides, the goggle wearing Tamer had a plan to get back on Rika's good side.

Takato had to stop and look around for a while before he found the right store, but eventually he found it, a small corner store that he knew for sure would have what he was looking for. After walking inside he heard a sharp gasp come from the front counter, Takato turned to look and a balding middle-aged man was pointing at him – his jaw hanging low and with wide eyes.

"Uhhh, are you okay…?" Takato asked uneasily, looking behind him in case the man was pointing to someone else but found that no one else was in the store.

"You're one of them, aren't you?!" the storeowner asked frantically.

' _One of them?'_ Takato repeated to himself in his head, wondering what the man could possibly mean.

"One of those kids who fought with the monsters five years ago!" the man smiled and laughed boisterously, he'd never had such an icon come in to his store before so this was an exciting moment for him.

"Oh, yeah," Takato rubbed the back of his head. "I'm Takato, it's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet _me_ , he says! It's an honour to have you in my store young man, it may have been five years ago but I still remember what you and those other kids did for us all." the man nodded vigorously, he'd become astounded when he saw that it was kids on the news fighting alongside the Digimon and had remembered their unmistakeable faces. He'd picked Takato out easily from the yellow rimmed goggles he wore around his neck. Takato just laughed, he was beginning to like this man, and he came across as very kind.

"It's nice to hear that," Takato smiled. "Could you help me look for something? I'm looking for a specific rare Digimon card, it's a stretch, but I'm hoping you might have it." The storeowner nodded, he had a wide array of Digimon cards, and compared to some other stores he had quite a collection of rare ones.

He motioned for Takato to come back behind the counter and unlocked a draw with one of the many keys hanging around his neck. Takato sifted through them and realised that this entire draw was full of only rare cards – even ones he'd never seen before in his life. If wild Digimon still emerged and caused havoc, a lot of these cards would be extremely useful. Not that it really mattered now though. Some of the ones Takato saw weren't actually rare, but he surmised that perhaps the owner thought they were or liked them so much that he put them there in with them.

After a few more minutes of searching, Takato found the card he was looking for. With a satisfied smile he picked it up and walked back around to the front of the counter, the man looking over the card with an approving look. He remembered this one very well.

"So it's just that card today, is it?" Takato nodded.

"So what one were you?" Takato raised an eyebrow, not having kept up with what the man asked him.

"Well when you kids were fighting that pink blob thing that day, the cameras did some weird techno thing and the world saw that you kids had actually become the Digimon!" the man had a huge smile on his face at the memory. Some people were horrified that they were just kids doing what the military couldn't even hope to have done, but others had just been too caught up in the spectacle of it all to care.

Takato remembered what the man was talking about now. Yamaki and the Monster Makers had managed to utilise the Hypnos systems to hack into the D-Reapers visual frequencies to see what he saw, and due to it being a rogue program, it could see through layers of data right through to a Digimon's core. So when it looked at Gallantmon, Sakuyamon, MegaGargomon, and Justimon, the world could see Takato, Rika, Henry, and Ryo. Takato remembered being embarrassed when watching the playbacks of all the recordings on the news for the next few weeks due to the fact that when Biomerged, the tamers had all been in the nude, lucky for them the news had blanked them all out from the neck down when they were visible.

' _I'm just glad we can't see each other when we're like that.'_

"I was, err… am, the knight, Gallantmon." Takato replied.

"Gallantmon, huh? Fitting name for a knight, and from the way you fought, I'd say it's pretty fitting for you and your partner." The storeowner nodded and put Takato's purchase through the register, cutting the price in half for him.

Takato took a step back and went wide eyed, it was an expensive order and he would appreciate getting it for half price, but he couldn't see any signs of a sale on around the store and didn't want the man to accidentally rip himself off. He raised his hand to say something but the owner just looked up and him with a sly smile and raised a finger to his mouth. Takato just blinked, this man was being nice to him for something he helped do five years ago, most people had gotten over it by now so he wasn't used to getting treated so highly.

"T-thank you so much!" Takato bowed, the man just replied with a chuckle as he handed the card in its wrapping over to Takato.

"Uh, why is it wrapped…?" Takato asked, he didn't remember asking for it to be wrapped and was now curious as to if he had just forgotten.

"Usually when a customer comes in and buys Digimon cards, they'll purchase them in packs. In all my years of owning this store, the only people who've purchased a singular card have usually done it as a gift. And I can tell from what this card who you plan to give it too." The storeowner looked at Takato from the corner of his eyes as he turned to tend to something in the back and smiled. "My name is Kiria Yamatomo."

Takato nodded and pocketed the card, heading out of the store. He checked the time on his gold rimmed D-Ark and made his way towards the auditorium where the card tournament was being held.

' _I should've brought Guilmon along with me, Mr. Yamatomo would've loved to see him.'_

Takato told himself that next time he came out to get cards he would come here to Mr. Yamatomo and bring Guilmon with him. He had left Guilmon back in Shinjuku Park today and had promised the little dinosaur that he'd hang out with him later that night. Terriermon was still back at the park with him too so he knew his partner wouldn't be bored, he just didn't want a real life Digimon distracting or freaking out anyone at the tournament. The teen was just hoping they wouldn't get in to too much trouble left to their own vices, especially with Terriermon as an influence.

* * *

 ** _Shinjuku Park_**

The blue haired Henry Wong was walking through the side paths of Shinjuku Park, making his way to the old hideout that his Digimon partner Terriermon was staying with Takato's partner Guilmon. He was still feeling a little guilty that the small dog bunny had to stay in the old abandoned utilitarian shed when previously he was able to stay with Henry at his house under the guise of a stuffed animal.

He had complained for quite a while, but when it came to actually acting upon it, Terriermon was all for it which confused Henry quite a bit. When he asked the little Digimon about it, Terriermon had explained that he was okay with it because even though Suzie pretended like she was okay with it, he could tell that being around still upset her a little. Henry smiled, he liked that Terriermon cared so much about his little sister, even though the little girl had all but tortured him with the 'Miss Pretty Pants' treatment when she was younger.

Henry made it to the shed and looked inside for Terriermon. It wasn't much, but it was what he and Guilmon had grown accustomed two since they'd been back. Two futons were laid out along the left wall, and against the back wall that Guilmon had dug out to make further back, was an old couch that Terriermon had requested for no reason at all. The little Digimon was sitting on it at this moment, next to Guilmon which surprised Henry, it wasn't often that Guilmon was here instead of hanging out with Takato.

"Henry! What took ya so long?" Terriermon giggled, running over to Henry and jumping up on to his Tamers' head.

"Momentai, Terriermon. Hey, Guilmon, weird to see you here and not with Takato." The saurian looked over to Henry and smiled a toothy grin.

"Takato left Guilmon here while he went on a date!" Terriermon said in a sing-song voice, confusing Henry.

"Takato went to the Digimon card tournament with Rika today to watch her play, but he promised to hang out with me tonight and bring some fresh bread so it's okay." Guilmon wagged his tail happily, he didn't mind not seeing Takato all the time and the fact his Tamer was bringing him bread was a beautiful thought.

"Those two are on talking terms again, huh? Well that's good." Henry nodded, almost shaking Terriermon off his head. The Digimon gripped Henry's hair tightly and repositioned himself.

"I'm tellin' ya, Henry, there's something going on between those two and I'm gonna find out what." Terriermon devilishly rubbed his paws together, an evil purpose glinting in his eyes.

"Terriermon, this would be the first time they've actually hung out in years, you know that." Henry rapped him on the head with his knuckles.

He wasn't sure how to feel about Takato and Rika talking again, a large part of him was glad. He liked the idea of those two getting along again, the past few years of awkwardly talking to both of them was beginning to take its toll on him, so if they settled their differences then things could go back to how they were. Henry did have an unsettling feeling in his gut though, he knew that although Takato's intentions were good, sometimes the things in his brain never quite made it to his mouth right and even though Rika wasn't always angry like she used to be, it was still fairly easy to set her off if you weren't careful.

' _I'll pray for your safety, Takato. Just in case,'_ Henry chuckled to himself.

"I know that, and now they're suddenly talking again, so naturally something's up!" Henry couldn't help but be entertained by Terriermon's flawed logic all the time.

"Hate to break it to you, buddy, but you're making a mountain out of a molehill." Henry shook his head, his bemused smile growing a little. "Say, Guilmon, Terriermon and I are going to hang out here at the park today, did you want to join us?" He looked over to the dinosaur Digimon.

Guilmon pointed to himself when he turned to look at Henry, the teenager nodding his head. Guilmon cheered and followed to other two out of the concrete shed hoping that he'd be able to chase some squirrels today.

* * *

 ** _Akihabara – Digimon Card Tournament_**

"We'll register your cards now." Rika nodded, pulling her deck of cards out her pocket extension hanging from her belt.

She handed them over and the official began cataloguing them down. It was always a process that annoyed Rika, but she knew it was necessary to prevent people from cheating and to keep the game fair. It was just agonisingly slow to, all Rika wanted to do was get in and show everyone that she's still good enough to keep her title. This was only a local tournament, but if the proclaimed Digimon Queen didn't turn up to a local one every now and then, then what kind of impression would that leave?

After the official was done registering her cards, Rika signed a few documents and walked out of the room at the side and into the main hall of the auditorium. It wasn't anything flash, just a hall with four game tables set up and a stage at one end. She preferred the smaller tournaments here to beiger ones held inside of stadiums due to the fact that not as many people were around, she never really liked having attention drawn to her in big crowds. She heard someone call out her name and looked to the entrance of the hall to see Takato walking over, handling something in his pocket. Rika thought nothing of it and let a wry smile come across her face.

"Didn't expect you to turn up, Gogglehead." Takato frowned and scratched his arm out of nervousness.

"Yeah, okay, I guess I deserve that one." Rika nodded and softened her expression a little.

"Damn right you do." Rika looked at the other kids of all ages gathering around, and even some adults, each showing off their cards and preparing for the tournament. "It's only a joke though, Goggles. It'll take a while to trust you again, but don't say anything overly stupid and you'll be on your way." Takato laughed.

"Right," he replied. "So how do you think it's going to go?" he asked.

"I'm confident that I'm going to win, after all, real life experience beats pretend any day of the week." She smiled smugly, besides to her, none of the people gathered look particularly challenging, and it was only a local tournament after all. "I'm the Digimon Queen for a reason."

Takato nodded in agreement, she did have a point. It was kind of an unfair advantage that she had real life experience, but her natural talent for the game wasn't to be taken lightly either.

"And it's not like Ryo's here to compete either," she added before regretting it.

Takato and Henry weren't the only ones to have tried getting in contact with Ryo, everyone else had helped as well, thought that didn't add anything else to the search as it all ended in failure. Then when everyone fell apart, everyone just slowly stopped trying, much to Takato's dismay. Rika remembered how hard he had tried to get everyone to keep searching, saying they never gave up on Calumon or Jeri, so they shouldn't give up on Ryo. In the end it had been henry who reasoned with Takato, telling him that if Ryo could survive the Digital World on his own then he was perfectly fine wherever he was.

Takato accepted it, but he still didn't like it. Rika didn't either, but she knew firsthand that Ryo was a seasoned Tamer and very resilient so it was easier for her to accept.

"Sorry, guess that was in bad taste."

"It's okay, even though Ryo wasn't part of the group for as long as the rest of us, I still feel bad for just giving up on him like we did," the teen clenched his fists at his side, looking out one of the windows at nothing in particular.

"I'm sure he'd understand, he's been gone for such a long time now and his Dad seemed pretty okay with him being gone so maybe he knows." Rika reassured, Takato looked back to her and nodded, accepting her answer.

Rika noticed Takato fumbling his hand around in his pocket and grew curious. Before she could ask him about it however, an announcement played over a make shift speaker system telling all participants to go to the notice board to check their matches and to then proceed to the allotted table. Takato moved over to the side with the rest of the spectators and Rika moved over to one of the tables closest to the stage and waited for her opponent.

A young teen of about thirteen walked over to stand opposite Rika on shaky legs, they shook hands and took their seats. An official walked over to the table and Rika remembered him as the one who had initially registered her deck. The time consuming but necessary process of the officials making sure the decks hadn't been altered began, and soon after the match was underway. Rika's opponent was constantly rethinking his moves and took forever to make his plays, which frustrated Rika because she just wanted to get this match over and done with, the others around them were slowly ending or entering the final stages.

It took another twenty minutes due to her opponents' indecisiveness, but eventually she had emerged the victor of her match. She saw Takato making his way over, most likely to congratulate her, but the announcement for round two was already being played so he went back to the viewing group while Rika moved to the next table her match was assigned to. It was only a three round tournament due to only there being eight entries. There were a few more, but to even out the competition, a few participants were transferred to the tournament division in Odaiba. Her second match went a lot smoother. Her opponent came in to the fight high and mighty. He knew very well that Rika was the Digimon Queen but was confident in his ability and was convinced that he could win against her. Rika heard muffled laughter come from the viewers and looked over to see Takato covering his mouth with his hand and figured that he was the made a mental note to ask him about it after the tournament was over and resumed her match, wiping the floor with her opponent in record time.

The final match began and it was between Rika and a girl the same age as her. She hadn't read the girls' name on the listing but didn't think it was important, she was just more focused that there was another girl in the competition too. She was also thankful that she must've been strong too to have made it to the finals, even if it was just a local tournament. The girl was blonde and roughly Rika's height, and when the match started she kept calm and held her own very well. She did take her sweet time between each play and at one point almost looked like she was going to falter under the pressure Rika had applied to her, but managed to come back from it, earning Rika's respect. The way the girl played reminded her of Henry, she seemed to be good at utilising card combos, but her experience still wasn't on par with Rika. The redhead would never admit to Takato or anyone that this girl could actually give her a run for her money if she kept it up this way. After an intense few minutes Rika was able to end the match with a well-timed system crash card, the blonde girls' eyes widening in surprise having not expecting it. She stood up with Rika and smiled. Rika held out her hand with a smile as a sign of good sportsmanship, but the blonde haired girl giggled and ran around the table to Rika and hugged her.

"Thanks for the great match! It was honestly an honour." The girl giggled and let go of the surprised redhead and ran off with a quick wave.

"O-okay then…" Rika muttered as she walked to the entrance to wait for Takato. She looked around for a while but couldn't spot the other teen. She frowned and slumped down against the wall, wondering if he missed the entire final match. She started to get a little annoyed, thinking he must've left as the auditorium was pretty much void of all people.

' _Why am I even disappointed?'_ she sighed to herself, looking down at the ground between her legs.

"Guess she was a hugger." Takato said cheerfully, putting his hands behind his head.

"Where were you?" Rika asked, curiosity taking over her at the other teen having appeared out of nowhere. Takato's face reddened and he laughed nervously.

"I had to go to the bathroom right after it finished, I'm sorry." Rika shook her head and stood up, motioning for Takato to follow her out, the brown haired teen doing so.

"So what were you laughing at in the second round?" Rika asked after she grew tired of walking towards the station in silence. Takato looked at her with a raised eyebrow for a second before he remembered.

"Oh, yeah, it's just that guy reminded me a little bit of Kazu. I could hear him talking from where I was watching and couldn't help it," she thought about it and remembered all the times Kazu had arrogantly claimed that he could beat her at the card game, and laughed along with Takato.

The two didn't have to wait long for a train from Akihabara to Shinjuku and before they knew it they were walking in silence to Rika's house, the redhead still adamant that Takato had to show her if he still had what it takes to fight her in a Digimon card battle. They were passing through the Keyasara shopping district near the Matsuki Bakery when Takato tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention, stopping their walk. Rika eyed him cautiously and Takato withdrew his hand quickly, stuttering out something akin to words as Rika turned to face him, folding her arms across her chest.

"W-well, I j-just, ahh…" Rika shook her head.

"C'mon, spit it out, Goggles." Rika huffed, she didn't want to stand around doing nothing for too long and was curious as to why Takato stopped them to talk when they could've just kept going, it wasn't hard to walk and talk after all.

"Well I just wanted to say sorry for everything that happened between us, I know I was a jerk and still feel really bad about it…" Takato fumbled through his pockets and held out a small rectangular something or rather that was wrapped up in blue paper. Rika blinked before taking it and looking it over, attempting to guess what it was first. A few thoughts ran through her mind but she couldn't be sure.

"You don't have to open it just yet, it's nothing real big or anything like that, and I just knew this would be a little awkward for me so I hoped that would smooth it over in case I said something wrong…" He explained, rubbing the back of his head.

Rika nodded and put it in her pocket, she made a mental note to open it later that night. She nodded to Takato and grabbed his arm to get him walking again, the boy guessing that she had accepted his apology. Walking one step ahead of him, Rika smiled, happy that he had shown her that he was making an effort. The two walked in silence for the rest of the way, Takato still wondering if Rika had accepted his apology or not, and Rika with a smile on her face. As they got to the gate of Rika's property, Rika saw Takato looking around curiously.

"What are you doing?" she questioned.

"Well, it's just that I haven't seen Renamon with you today and I was wondering where she was," and as if on cue, Renamon appeared beside the teen as if out of thin air, causing Takato to jump with fright. He'd seen her do that many times in the past but still never expected it.

"I'll never quite understand how she does that…" he sighed dejectedly.

"Guess you'll never figure it out." Rika and Renamon exchanged knowing nods as the kitsune phased away.

Rika and Renamon had always shared a deep bond, that's not to say the other Tamers weren't close with their Digimon, but Rika and Renamon had always had their own ability to communicate on a profounder level. No matter where Rika was, Renamon was always able to hear her when she called, and the two could talk between each other without actually having to exchange any words, though Rika did prefer to talk to her out loud, speaking with her through their minds always made her feel a little strange in a way that she couldn't describe. It had its uses though, such as if the two were in a crowd, they could communicate privately without anyone nosy butting in, and on multiple occasions they'd made fun of Kazu and Kenta without the two boys hearing them. This ability was how she knew that she and Renamon were the perfect partners for each other, even when she was convinced that Digimon were nothing but beings made of data, made only to fight and kill each other to become stronger, but back then she didn't understand just how connected they really were but now that she knew what it meant for the two of them whenever she thought about it she was filled with an unexplainable warmth that just radiated throughout her body. Rika was certain that Renamon felt the same, even after the time they'd spent apart.

"Well, hello Takato, what a surprise to see you here so late." Rika's grandma Seiko Hata greeted as Rika walked in with the goggled teen in tow. They slipped off their shoes and walked through to the large kitchen area, Rika giving the older woman a hug hello.

Though Seiko was Rika's grandmother, she wasn't as old as one would expect. In the past two generations of their family, Seiko and Rumiko – Rika's mother – had both given birth to their daughters at a young age. Seiko herself was only fifty one years old, having given birth to Rumiko when she was only eighteen. Rika's mother, the world famous model Rumiko was only thirty three, but she easily passed off for a woman in her mid to late twenties.

"Sorry I didn't let you know grandma," Seiko looked at her granddaughter and smiled, shaking her head.

"That's quite alright dear, your mother was called away for a photoshoot today anyway, and so if you and Takato get hungry then there'll be plenty of food." Rika smiled, she had grown accustomed to her mother being called away at a moment's notice and no longer cared as much. Rumiko always made her best effort to be there when she could and for that at least, Rika was glad.

"We're just going to hang out in my room for a little bit, grandma." Rika pointed her finger down a corridor of the traditional Japanese style house, reminding Takato that her room was accessed via an outdoor corridor where the courtyard with the koi pond could be seen.

"I'll bring you some tea down in a moment." Seiko called out after them.

Within the course of twenty minutes, Rika's grandma had brought the two teens two cups of tea, and walked in on Takato falling over in despair at having lost to Rika in a record quick time, Rika laughing. Takato sat back up and sipped at the tea that Seiko had brought them, Rika looking out her opened doorway as the sun set, casting its powerfully vibrant orange and yellow lights across the serene scene, that one she loved so much.

"Rika," Takato began, gaining the redhead's attention. "I've been thinking,"

"Did it hurt?" She retorted, Takato missing her mischievous smile due to her still gazing out at the courtyard.

"Y-yeah, well…" he managed to stammer out trying to regain his confidence. "I'm just not sure if you've forgiven me yet or not." Rika turned her head to look at him with a raised eyebrow, her violet eyes intense and Rika may have purposefully be staring at him without blinking to put him in an uncomfortable position for her own amusement. She looked away for a moment and then took a sip of her tea before looking down at the floor.

"To be honest, Takato," Rika felt that the situation was appropriate to call him by his name for once, and she pulled Takato's gift out of her pocket and gave it another once over. "I forgave you a long while ago. I just needed you to prove to me that you were serious about what you said yesterday." She avoided looking at him while talking, the two of them had never really had a heart to heart conversation before and she knew by looking at him it'd make her feel more uncomfortable than she already was. However Rika did take comfort knowing Takato being Takato was feeling just as awkward as she was right now. In fact, she could practically see him rubbing the back of his head even though he wasn't in her line of sight at all.

"It's good to hear that," Takato smiled and let his body relax, finishing off his tea.

The two teens sat in a companionable silence, not the semi-awkward silence they'd had walking to the station in Akihabara and to Rika's house from Shinjuku station, but a silence that reminded them of what it used to be like before an argument tore them apart. Rika had figured it was time to forgive Takato a long time ago as she had told him just now and had told Renamon the night before, but she needed him to seek her out of his own accord, to show her that he still cared about her friendship. She laughed at her own thoughts. Years ago she wouldn't have cared if Takato, Henry, or anyone else didn't want to talk to her or didn't want to be her friend, but she still remembered that first time when she and Renamon had become Sakuyamon. She could still feel that warmth and overwhelming sense of compassion for her friends and all living things, though, she thought with a smirk, that didn't stop her from being so fiery and hot-headed. After a while, Takato eventually left, telling Rika that he promised Guilmon that he would see him tonight and bring him fresh bread. This meant he had to leave before it got too dark so that he could get home to grab food for Guilmon before he met up with him. Rika had nodded and Seiko had shown Takato out, Rika overhearing her telling the teen that he could visit whenever he liked.

' _Maybe that's a bit too hospitable, Grandma,'_ Rika thought with a shake of her head.

She ran a bath and afterwards got dressed in to her pyjamas, proceeding to move her small coffee table from the centre of her room off to the side. She tidied up her cards and reorganised them into her holder the way she used to have them when Wild Ones would emerge. Part of her thought it was unnecessary but the part of her that was a seasoned Tamer just wouldn't let her break her old habit, so she gave in to it. She untied her hair and set up her futon, preparing to sleep after checking the time on her Digivice when she remembered Takato's gift still sitting on her coffee table. She crawled over to it and brought it back to her bed. Her jaw dropped when she tore off the wrapping paper and saw that it was a Digimon card, Sakuyamon to be exact. Back on the day that they had gotten into their argument, Rika had complained that she was only missing the Sakuyamon card in Renamon's line of evolution and had looked everywhere for it. She shook her head and smiled, wondering how and where he'd found it, or if he had even intended to find it.

' _Hmph. Not bad, Takato. Not bad.'_ She placed it in her deck and went to sleep, satisfied with her day.

* * *

 ** _Shinjuku Park_**

The sunset was just falling behind the trees of Shinjuku Park when Takato had arrived. It didn't take him long to get home and grab the bread that he knew Guilmon must definitely be craving. If he hadn't been in such a hurry to see Guilmon then he would've put peanut butter on it as a surprise for him, but as it stood he was too eager to see the little saurian. As much as he had enjoyed his day with Rika and Renamon – the latter of which after remembering her ability to remain hidden would've been close by the entire day – he had missed Guilmon quite a bit and promised that one day he'd take him to Akihabara to see Mr. Yamatomo. He walked up the curved stone staircase up to the shed that Terriermon and Guilmon lived in, when the aforementioned red Digimon came bounding out towards him. Though what Takato assumed was a boisterous greeting for him, turned out to be more accurately excitement at the sweet aroma of bread and peanut butter.

"Gee, Guilmon, nice to see you've got your priorities in order," Takato grunted as he stood up, stretching his back out to try and relieve the pain.

"Oh, Takato, I missed you but when I smelled the bread coming this way I just couldn't help myself!" Guilmon cheered.

"Guilmon, never change," Takato heard Henry's voice and he looked up, spying his blue haired friend accompanied by Terriermon in his dominant position atop Henry's head.

"So Takato, how'd your date go?" Terriermon asked as he hid his giggle behind his ear. Takato broke out in to a heavy blush and stuttered out what he hoped was a cohesive sentence, unfortunately it sounded more like her was being choked.

"Terriermon," Henry warned, "you know if Rika heard you say something like that she'd kick you into the next time zone." Terriermon just giggled in response. "So how did it go, Takato? You two smooth things over?"

"Yeah actually, it went pretty well. Things are going good again." Takato replied. Henry let out a sigh of relief.

Takato guessed that Henry thought he might've run the risk of making things worse what with his mouths' ability to not say what his brain is thinking sometimes, which Takato knew could've been a very real possibility. He watched with amusement as Terriermon jumped down off Henry's head, running over to eat some of the bread before the bottomless pit that was Guilmon devoured it all mercilessly. The two boys laughed at their Digimon, neither one would change them for the world, and neither one noticed the figure watching them from under the cover of darkness.


	3. Paranoia

_**Tales of the Tamers: Act I  
Chapter 02: Paranoia**_

* * *

 _ **Shinjuku – Henry's House**_

"No, nope. Terriermon is still as annoying as ever."

Henry Wong laughed after the words in response. He had woken up that morning and had received a phone call to the residence asking for him. Now, he had cut his usual morning Tai Chi routine out so that he had time to talk on the phone with Jeri Katou, ex-Tamer and old friend to him and Takato.

Jeri was the only one out of herself and Kenta that moved away after the D-Reaper incident that had kept in contact with everyone. But unlike Kazu, Kenta, Suzie, and Ai and Mako, Jeri was an ex-Tamer for reasons that still made Henry shudder to this day – unpleasant memories that he'd really rather he never have to think about again, unfortunately he was reminded every now and then.

After another question was asked over the phone, Henry laughed again before responding. "Actually no, Takato and Rika have been fine for almost a week now," he paused, listening to her shocked but relieved reply. "Yeah, no, Takato actually went with Rika to a card tournament last week and since then she and Renamon have been hanging out with us after school."

"Yeah, it feels good to have at least one person back," he could practically hear Jeri smiling at that.

Henry glanced up at the clock hanging above him and his eyes widened in shock. He was running behind now and would be late to meet up with Terriermon and the others before school. He said a quick goodbye to Jeri and rushed to his room. He threw on his school vest and crammed the books on his desk hurriedly into his bag, slinging it over one shoulder and rushing out of his room. As he passed the cabinet near the door he scooped his keys into his pocket and quickly slipped his shoes on.

As he exited and turned to close the door he stopped after he thought he heard laughter. "Terriermon…?" he peered back into the house and scanned the room, but could see no sign of the small Digimon that was his prankster of a partner. Shaking his head clear and remembering that he had to leave now if he didn't want to be late, Henry shut the door and hurried to the elevator that would take him to the bottom of the apartment building his family lived in.

The elevator seemed to take forever to get down to the bottom floor, and the whole way down the blue haired Tamer felt a nagging suspicion in the back of his mind so he gripped his green trimmed digivice in his pocket for comfort.

He walked at a quickened pace, if Henry had a list of top three things that he hated – he could be one hundred percent certain that being late was one of them, something he found that was completely opposite to Takato as he managed to be late to many important things over the years. In no time at all Henry had made it to the park and had met up with Takato, Guilmon, and Terriermon, all the while glad that he wasn't the last to show.

After a few minutes of talking to the others, Henry focused his attention to Terriermon who had regained his usual perch atop his Tamers' head once he had arrived. "Say, Terriermon," as Henry began, the little Digimon hung himself down in front of his face, a playful grin on his features after repeating his name to irk Henry. "You weren't at the apartment this morning by any chance, were you?"

A look of mock betrayal appeared on Terriermon's face and he puffed out his chest after moving to stand on Henry's shoulder. "Henry! I can't believe you'd accuse me of such a thing, we had a deal!" The bunny giggled and Henry lightened his expression, satisfied that he'd just been imagining the laughter he thought he'd heard that morning. He was broken out of his musing however when Rika approached and greeted them, Renamon phasing in to view. This however made Henry wonder if Renamon had been there the entire time or had just silently followed Rika.

"Come on, Goggleheads, we have to get going." Not waiting for their reply Rika began walking through the park, a shortcut through to get to school quicker. The three Tamers and Renamon walked in silence while Terriermon and Guilmon hung back a few steps and spoke in hushed tones, every now and then Terriermon would smile devilishly about something before whispering into Guilmon's ears. When neither of them were paying attention, Renamon appeared behind them and surprised them, Terriermon giving out a yelp.

"And what pray tell are you scheming?" Her icy blue eyes piercing into the very core of Terriermon's being and he hastily attempted to recover.

"U-ugh… Guilmon and I were wondering if you wanted to play with us while the others are at school today..." Terriermon laughed nervously, hoping that Renamon would believe it. Renamon's eyes widened almost imperceptibly at the offer and shook her head, falling back in step with Rika – Henry and Takato trying to hide their laugher behind their palms to avoid the cold stare from the bipedal fox with little luck.

Rika smirked and searched deep within her for a moment, searching for her bond with Renamon and finding it straight away. _"Admit it, Renamon. You wouldn't mind playing with the two goofballs."_

Without looking at her, Rika could see Renamon stiffen slightly and her smile widened at little more when Renamon replied. _"Please, I am a refined Digimon bred for battle. I don't play."_

" _Sure thing, Renamon. Whatever you say,"_ Rika smirked once again. She felt someone looking at her and looked to her left, seeing Takato giving her questioning eyes with a raised eyebrow.

"What's wrong?" Rika just shook her head and tapped her temple with a knowing look. Sometimes when she and Renamon conversed without actually speaking out loud it caused the two to seem to be staring off in to space, as such, it was part of the reason why when in a battle where it could come in handy they don't communicate in that way – especially when a distraction could cost them their lives.

' _Though that's not really such a problem anymore…'_

Upon entering the school the three Digimon broke away from their Tamers and moved to a secluded spot in the trees behind the soccer fields at the school where Terriermon and Guilmon often waited for Henry and Takato when they came to school with the boys. Rika knew that sometimes even Renamon would go back and sit in the trees above the other two even when she wasn't exactly on speaking terms with Takato. She hadn't minded though as she didn't expect Renamon to have to ignore them as she had even outwardly expressed to her a few times.

With no real time to stand around and talk before class began the three tamers walked through the halls and coming to a staircase Rika broke away from the other two with a small wave, her class being on the floor above the other two. As she neared the top of the stairs she looked up and saw Kazu standing at the top, regarding her with an uncomfortable look. The corners of her lips turned down slightly and she awkwardly readjusted her blazer. Kazu averted her gaze and tightened his grip on his bag, obviously opting to use another staircase as he walked away.

Rika sighed and furrowed her brow. She was sick of those random moments when she'd pass by Kazu and they'd have this awkward interaction where he'd just turn and walk in the opposite direction or give her as wide a berth as possible. She mentally noted that she'd much have preferred Kazu this way when there was a time when they actually could've been called friends. Now that they weren't it just kind of felt uncomfortable and weird. She mentally kicked herself when her brain decided to remind her that the exact feeling she just had about Kazu's treatment of her must've been what Takato and Henry felt like not too long ago. She sighed in frustration, her brow furrowing deeper as she continued her way to class.

Without really returning the greetings from some of her classmates the redhead slumped down in to her chair and her desk near the window of the classroom and gazed out towards the front courtyard of the school. Seeing her reflection in the window she cursed that she had to attend yet another school with a uniform – though she didn't mind the green blazer, white shirt and black skirt of her current school, Shinjuku Yamabuki High, compared to the bland grey attire of her previous Elementary school, the Kagurazaka Girl's Academy.

As the day continued on, Rika became certain of the same thing that she did pretty much every day she had to sit through one of Mr. Aono's classes: that even though she had changed schools it was still impossibly boring. Sometimes she didn't even blame Takato for drifting off into his own imagination, something that he was still guilty of doing in the middle of class.

A warning sensation raked through Rika's mind as she felt some kind of vibration and her hand instinctively went to her blazer pocket, handling her blue trimmed Digivice in hopes that it wasn't going off. When it was still she mentally sighed in relief and also, strange enough, in a little disappointment. Though she was washed over with another strange feeling and in a rather violent – though unintentionally so – movement, she was on her feet, eyes glaring out the window in to the courtyard below.

' _What the hell…'_

"Miss Nonaka," Mr. Aono called out to her, his tone disproving and judgemental. "Is there some kind of problem?"

Rika stammered out an apology, a small blush of embarrassment appearing on her face at her little charade. She silently cursed herself and slid back down in to her seat whilst trying her best to ignore the muffled giggles and looks from her classmates. She pushed all of her distractions out of her mind and focused on her work until the lunch bell rang. She took her time walking back down the stairs near her classroom knowing full well that she'd beat Takato and Henry to their meeting spot with the Digimon near the soccer field.

As she approached the shade of the trees where the small group had decided to meet – the same spot that Terriermon and Guilmon frequented – Rika noticed that only Henry was there waiting. After returning his wave quickly she glanced around.

"Where's Gogglehead?" but as Henry opened his mouth to answer, Takato walked over with a tired expression on his face.

"What's up with you?" She questioned.

Takato however just exhaled heavily and with a slump of his shoulders he flopped down heavily to the ground and lay still. Obviously not caring that the grass might stain his white shirt, or the fact that his black tie was pushed up in his face. Terriermon ran over and jumped on his back with a giggle, Henry letting his head drop into his hand as he moved to sit down. Rika just watched the entire thing with an amused expression.

"Miss Asaji didn't agree with Takato drawing in class," Henry smirked "again."

Rika nodded in understanding, she had heard the tales of Miss Asaji when they were younger and how Takato, Kazu, and Kenta had always managed to get in to trouble due to one of them being late, trying to make wisecracks to one another, or simply because Takato was off in his own world. After leaving elementary school and moving on to higher education, the teacher was freed from the trio up until this year when she discovered that she now had Takato in her class again.

"Guess some things _never_ change," she added, tightening her ponytail.

Rika mused how it just had to have been the teachers' bad luck to be stuck with the spacey Tamer yet again, but at least he wouldn't be running off all the time from school to deal with Digimon emerging in to the real world anymore.

For the umpteenth time that day she was thrown from her thoughts when Takato rolled over to look up, throwing Terriermon off of him in the process. He seemed to be focusing on something but also seemed to be lost in his own world. Rika watched the shadows and the light filtering in through the trees dancing across Takato's face. She focused her eyes against the light when it reflected off the surface of the goggles he hung around his neck and took a moment to lose herself in her mind again.

She hadn't noticed much at first, but as the week dragged on and she saw more of the shaggy haired teen she realised that he had seemingly grown quite a bit since she last spoke to him and he had decided to start dressing better. It had taken a while but he had stopped wearing those ugly three quarter pants. She wasn't as well versed in the fashion industry as her mother and she didn't particularly care too much, but even she thought Takato had been in need of a wardrobe change. She had to admit he looked a lot more attractive in the standard uniform's black dress pants and white shirt, he even wore the thin black tie though sometimes he never managed to quite tie it correctly. On the days that he did come in with it tied properly she assumed it was most likely because his mother had berated him for looking so unprofessional in his uniform and retied it.

She stopped and blinked.

Something bothered her. Her mind itched and she couldn't quite place her hand on what it was exactly.

Then it was as if she had just gripped by the cold hands of IceDevimon again as the realisation hit her.

She had just told herself that Takato looked attractive. Even worse, she had just told herself that Takato looked _more attractive_. She inwardly screamed, drawing her brows together in a fierce argument with her head for even considering to think that. As if it were some sort of painfully taboo topic.

Terriermon watched the scene with devious curiosity. After Takato had so _rudely_ thrown him off of his wonderful perch on his soft head of shaggy hair, he had complained and walked over to Henry to sit on his head instead. He had thought for a moment to try and get Henry's attention so that he could go and get him food, but after a quick glance at Guilmon and seeing him sleeping – he decided he'd rather not have the bottomless pit awaken and become contest for food.

So instead he had found his gaze on the fiery redhead. She was focused on something, but focused on what? Terriermon followed her line of sight slowly and careful, he didn't want any sudden movements to break the serenity that had found itself cast over the group. After confirming what he indeed thought was true, he could tell plain as day that Rika was looking – or rather, staring – at Takato. His usual reaction would have been to make what he knew would be an amazingly hilarious joke (at least to himself, anyway), but this once he decided to keep watch and see how it played out first. He wasn't let down when Rika's gaze began to shift up and down Takato's body, he almost couldn't contain his awaiting outburst any longer when the female Tamers' face took on a look of confusion and she glanced at the ground between her feet where she sat.

But it still wasn't done. Not by a long shot.

Her eyes widened and Terriermon could see her violet eyes shake and darken, her eyebrow's knot together as she fought internally to fight back the blush appearing on her cheeks. Terriermon chuckled silently to himself and vowed that he would find out just exactly what all that was about, after all, what else was a bored little Digimon to do with no worlds to protect other than meddle in affairs that had no business with him?

Renamon saw an evil grin flash across Terriermon's eyes and wondered what it was about. He had been staring at Rika unbeknownst to the redhead for a while now and she knew that the little Digimon was up to no good. She couldn't have that and so decided she'd interfere on the peace that had settled the group.

"Rika," she said from her spot in the trees, causing everyone, save Guilmon, to look up at her. "Don't you think you should ask them?" Renamon's question obviously intrigued the other three as they all turned their curios gazes to her Tamer. Satisfied that the devilish look in Terriermon's eyes was now gone and replaced with one of curiosity at the question Rika needed to ask that she alluded to, she felt that it was worth the ear Renamon was probably going to get chewed off tonight after throwing Rika under the bus like that. She never did quite get that saying, but somehow it felt appropriate.

"What's she talking about?" Takato asked Rika after seeing the scowl on the teens' face.

Rika drew in a long breath and looked at the two, a blush forming on her face yet again. She cursed how many times she'd been caught off-guard today and then relaxed, knowing there was no way out now. Shooting a look of betrayal up at Renamon she replied.

"Well, it's my birthday soon," she began, the three listeners moving in a little closer due to that fact that she was mumbling. "And my Mum and Grandma said that I should invite you guys over to celebrate."

Seeing the wide grin that spread across Takato's face she groaned, she hadn't wanted to tell them about it. If there was anything she didn't like more than surprises – it was having a birthday party thrown for her. The past few years she managed to get out of her Mum and Grandma from organising anything, but this year her mother simply wouldn't have it and after having heard the model rant for hours on why it was important to celebrate a girl's sixteenth birthday, Rika had given in.

"That's so cool! We'll definitely be there," Takato turned to Henry for confirmation and the blue haired Tamer nodded, Terriermon having to hold on to his head for support.

"Right," he agreed. "It's your sixteenth birthday this time around, isn't it?" Rika nodded, a smile appearing on Henry's face too now.

"Alright, but there's one condition." Rika stood up and raised a finger, pointing from one to the other.

"Shoot." Henry said.

"If I'm having a stupid party then you can't get me presents, got that?" Takato, Henry, and Terriermon exchanged a glance between them and laughed before hastily agreeing after Rika threatened them, even Renamon smiled at the group.

After they had dispersed when the lunch bell went off, they managed to push through the rest of the day and made their way slowly towards the park. Takato had gym last, so he was even more worn out than he had been earlier after apologising to Miss Asaji for not listening in class for what seemed like the thousandth time in his life. He didn't mean to get distracted after all, it just kinda happened without him even realising. He took relief in the fact that he at least didn't get detention this time around.

As the six of them that made up the small group settled in the park where Takato, Kazu, and Kenta used to meet before school to play the card game, Takato began to feel like a pair of eyes were boring holes in to the back of his head. But before he could catch the feeling properly, he was snapped out of his thoughts when Guilmon yawned rather obnoxiously. Terriermon giggled and jumped on to his head.

"I can't help but agree with the point you're making!" He smirked and as if it was fate, he yawned too.

Henry and Takato just smiled at their partners' antics before the two Digimon said their goodbyes, but not before Terriermon got in a few complaints about how he was tired from his long day spent doing absolutely nothing of importance – or as he more specifically put it to the confusion of especially Guilmon – nothing that would progress the plot.

"You know, they've become a lot more independent since they've had to live together in that hut." Henry noted, gaining the attention of Takato, but only a mere distracted nod from Rika – Renamon regarding her partner with a curious eye.

"Yeah, maybe we should start helping them to find jobs." Takato laughed loudly, his imagination running amok and imagining both Guilmon and Terriermon in many awkward jobs. Every scenario ending up with them causing untold amounts of damage in their awkward attempt at using their awkward bodies to do regular things. Though Takato had to admit, with his ears working like proper appendages and opposable thumbs, Terriermon would have a lot easier time of doing things than Guilmon would with his large claws.

"Please," Rika scoffed before an amusing smile took place on her face. "Even if those two could hold a job without scaring people they'd be fired for eating too much or sleeping too often." The three Tamers laughed, all now sharing Takato-like bouts of spontaneous imagination. Rika even managing to see Renamon attempting a few basic tasks with embarrassment.

And as quickly as it came before, Takato got that feeling that someone was watching him yet again, but he couldn't tell where from. His eyes darted around nervously, never settling in one spot for too long in fear that whoever – or, _whatever_ – he was trying to spot might move.

Then he found it.

Across the street he spied a lone figure and as his eyes focused on it, a truck flew past and it was gone, leaving Takato wondering if he'd even saw anyone. It was possible that it could've just been some kind of trick of the light. He couldn't be going crazy, he knew that much. Though he reasoned with himself that he was having weird dreams again. He had felt the need to tell Rika about that dream that he'd had with the strange bipedal goat creature that he watched her and Renamon fight in his dream, but every time he thought of it he quickly dismissed it. With a shudder Takato would always recall back the last threat Rika had given him about mentioning his last dream to anyone and surmised that she still could probably kick his ass if she were very well forced to do so. She may have lost her constant need to fight but she was still the same hot-headed redhead that was still quick to anger if her short fuse was set off.

Takato faded back in to the conversation with his two friends and wondered how long he had been daydreaming again for. It seemed to be becoming even more of a regular habit as of late. Henry was looking expectantly at him as if waiting for an answer to something.

"Oh, sorry, was out of it for a sec there," Takato rubbed the back of his head and chuckled nervously.

" _Really?_ Couldn't tell," Rika's sarcasm dripping from her mouth.

"I asked if you'd heard the rumours about the Fuji TV Station in Odaiba." Henry repeated, but Takato shook his head. He hadn't heard of any rumours, though he supposed if he'd managed to keep his head out of the clouds more recently he might've heard something.

"Why, is there some kind of Digimon there or something?" Takato was both anticipating and dreading the answer to the question. He was excited at the prospect to get back in action as a Tamer, it just felt right to him, and it always had felt that way for him. But even so, he knew that if he were drawn in to that world again his mother would flip her metaphorical lid.

"No, nothing like that," the blue haired Tamer smiled, both Takato and Rika released silent breaths neither realised they were holding. "Just some ghost stories, kind of like the ones circulating elementary school when Calumon and Guilmon decided they'd make up their own sport."

Laughing and delving in to the memories, the three Tamers enjoyed their afternoon, all under the watchful and ever vigilant eye of Renamon high up atop a building across the street. Though even the keen icy blue eyes of the bipedal fox Digimon couldn't detect herself being watched from somewhere in the darkest corners of Shinjuku.

* * *

 _ **Somewhere In Tokyo**_

In a darkened room of his apartment, door sealed shut and windows boarded up, a man with a sadistic toothy grin watched them from his monitors. Constantly typing away on his keyboard, his eyes never once looking down at his hands for he knew he would not once make a mistake. It would be intolerable, miscalculations were not something he knew of. The light from his screen being the only thing reflecting on his dishevelled face, worn from many months of sleepless nights and years of emotional anguish that had sent him spiralling down into the never ending insanity of his torment.

He had spent years observing carefully. Watching and analysing their every move. Every person they spoke to, every time they stopped in public to eat. Everything they did since that day – he had watched and catalogued it all. Every fleeting moment they had forgotten, he had remembered. They would not go unpunished.

He began to type faster, a window with rapidly appearing code displayed on one of his monitors as he saw the three of them part ways in another. Absentmindedly hitting a shortcut key, the camera changed and it now showed him the fox watching the redhead. If he weren't sickened to his inner core he might've been impressed by its' unwavering loyalty. He had learned of the fox Digimons' ability rather quickly and took months tracking her movement patterns and her favourite vantage points. It amused him how complacent she was – always tending to stick to the same paths and points each time she travelled.

The exact mark of one who was so out of practise.

Deciding abruptly that today he had done enough, he stood up slowly from his chair, shutting down his computer and pacing slowly over to a window boarded up with wooden planks. He peered through the gaps between two of the planks and his lifeless black eyes narrowed at the sight of where he would bring to them his reckoning. He had made a solemn vow to himself that day, and he would keep it at whatever cost.

"No matter what lives need to be sacrificed…"

A seething, burning passion for those that took everything away from him. He'd make them pay.

* * *

 _ **West Shinjuku**_

After spending the rest of the afternoon with Henry, Rika, and the always hidden Renamon, Takato had bid his friends farewell and slowly made his way home. However instead of taking the normally short route he had decided on taking a longer one so that he could think a little more while enjoying the last of the sunlight before it dipped behind the high skyline of Tokyo.

While lost in thought – purposefully this time – he rounded a corner and smacked right into someone, clutching his nose after it had come in to contact with someone's head. "I'm sorry," Takato managed to mutter politely before he looked up and his eyes widened as he saw who exactly he'd bumped in to.

That brown hair that spiked almost unnaturally upwards, and the same white and black uniform, though he always had the white shirt unbuttoned with his old black one underneath.

Kazu. Though Takato wasn't exactly sure he'd let him call him Kazu anymore, it was a nickname the other teen only let his friends call him – even the teachers called him by his proper name – Hirokazu or Shioda now. Before Takato could gather his thoughts though, Kazu seemed to notice him too and after rubbing his cheek his quickly hurried off, a quick glance to Takato's Digivice hanging from his belt that went unnoticed.

Takato turned around and reached out one hand, determination building up in his being.

But Kazu was already gone.

With a heavy sigh, Takato dropped his hand limply by his side. If he had been walking slowly home before, now he was pretty much crawling. To see someone who had been one of his longest friend's not even want to stick around for a minute in his presence was disheartening in its strongest form. Shattering, even.

Though if he had just turned the corner he'd walked around, he'd see that friend in question slumped against a wall with his steel grey eyes glazing over. His very being lost in the static on the screen on his brown trimmed Digivice.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** _ **So, I wasn't initially planning on having that last part with Kazu at the end there, it was going to be later, but after some consideration and re-writing I decided it would flow better with the whole Kazu arc if I put it in there. You'll see why soon.**_

 _ **Next up the story is going to deviate away from the Tamers for a little bit – not too long though. After all, the DigiDestined**_ **are** _ **mentioned in the characters for a reason. Now, obviously the only pairing in this story so far is Rukato, which should be a given seeing as though all of my old works like 'Life as a Tamer' and 'Problems of Love' were also Rukato. But with this story I'm exploring a few other pairings as well. They won't be completely evident from the beginning and though some characters may appear emotionally invested in one another for a time – don't take it to heart – I may change that in an instant.**_

 _ **I haven't mentioned this earlier – due to this being my first actual author's note so far – but for the extensive purpose of this book, the Adventure anime was never a thing. Having the anime exist isn't really vital to anything and I feel it would only serve to add weird complications to the story that would just fill it with unnecessary clutter.**_

 _ **The next chapter is currently in its base writing stages where I write it up and sort what I need to happen before filling it out, so it shouldn't hopefully be too long before it's up. I'd like to thank everyone for following, reviewing, and the favourites. Leave a review if you have anything you want to say, any advice, where you guess the next few chapters may be taking it, criticisms, what you might like to see out of the story, and especially how it made you feel. I always try to reply to reviews that I get as communication with my readers helps me make it a more enjoyable read.**_

 _ **Hope you enjoy what's to come. :)**_


	4. Calm Before The Storm

_**Tales of the Tamers: Act 1  
Chapter 03: Calm Before The Storm**_

* * *

 _ **Odaiba – Soccer Fields**_

It was a Friday in Odaiba and the warm afternoon sun was keeping the residents of the city nice and warm, save for the two at the Odaiba soccer fields having their own friendly one-on-one tournament. Though, since the two of them were both fairly competitive when it came to their favourite sport, it could push the boundaries a little on what one would label as a 'friendly' match. As long as neither of them got seriously injured though they weren't too fussed.

Eighteen year old Taichi 'Tai' Kamiya dribbled the soccer ball past long-time friend and fellow DigiDestined member of the original eight – the ones who defeated the Dark Masters and Apocalymon, restoring the Digital World to what it once was the first time.

Sora Takenouchi, also eighteen, attempted to stick her foot out in front of Tai in an effort to steal the ball. Tai saw this coming and flicked the ball up with the toe of his boot, jumping over Sora's leg so she didn't trip him and continued on his run down the field.

His legs burned from the length of time they'd been playing, but gritting his teeth Tai pushed onwards. Sora had recovered fairly quickly and because she didn't have to worry about keeping the ball in check, she was catching up on Tai fast. He knew this however and with a last grunt he put all his power in to a kick.

Then missed the goal.

Tai and Sora both stopped in their tracks. Tai was striker in his soccer team for a reason, so missing the goal when there was no goal keeper was bound to be embarrassing for the teenager. A blush appeared on Tai's face and Sora tried to muffle her laughs behind her hand but to no avail. Her hands gripped the sides of her old soccer jersey as she belted out laughter.

"Hey," Tai called out, balling his fist. "Come on, shut up!" Sora tried to control her breathing and it eventually died down in to ragged gasps for air. Tai shifted his weight on to his left foot and frowned.

"I-I'm sorry, Tai…" the auburn hair teen attempted again, successfully this time, to calm her laughter. "It's just that here you are, practising for your _semi-final_ game tomorrow and then you couldn't even hit the ball in to the goal without a goalie."

Tai sighed and walked over to the bleachers, doing his personal training always wore him out more than training with the team. He worked himself too hard to train his endurance. After tightening her loosened shoelaces Sora followed him over. She hadn't expected him to pull a move like that and after sliding for the ball she could feel a bruise coming up on her thigh already. She sighed, it wouldn't be the first bruise either she or Tai had suffered from one of their little matches.

With a tired groan he unzipped his soccer bag, pulling out his half-full bottle – or half-empty depending on your perspective. He tilted his head back and squirted the water in to his awaiting maw. Relishing in it as the cold liquid reinvigorated his dry throat and cooled down his aching muscles. Probably a bad idea to have played so hard seeing as though one of the biggest games of his life was tomorrow.

Sora followed suit, but instead of drowning herself in the water as Tai was seemingly doing, she took smaller sips. She'd often told him on many occasions that sculling his water wasn't going to hydrate him properly but he never listened, so whenever he complained about his lips being dry she just resorted to rolling her eyes. She'd gotten bored of sounding like a broken record after a while. She turned to face Tai when she heard him mumble something.

"Tai," she began, "how many times have I told you that I can't hear you when you mumble? I swear, you've got to get a haircut one of these days, its interfering with your ability to listen to things." A ghost of a smile appeared on her lips, relishing the dirty look he shot her out of the corner of his eyes for picking on his hair.

"I asked you," he started, not relinquishing his dirty look just yet, "if you were going to be at the game tomorrow." He turned and sat down on the bleachers. Stretching his legs out and craning his neck back to look at the brilliantly blue sky.

He loved days like this, where he could go outside without the fear of sweating – that is, until he played soccer – and just generally be in a good mood. Hotter weather tended to make him a little more impatient and harder to deal with.

"Well, uh…" she chewed her bottom lip. To tell him whether or not she had plans or not? That was her current dilemma. Soccer meant so much to him and Sora herself as well, and she also knew how much he loved it when his friends came to support him – even if he'd never admit it out loud. Somewhere down the line he'd become a little too proud for that, downside of growing up she supposed.

"What time is it?" She could make it work. _Hopefully_ , that is.

"Mnn…" Tai hummed, he couldn't remember exactly and was chiding himself for it. He knew it was written down on a slip of paper on the fridge back home. "Oh, two o'clock!" He smiled when he remembered.

Sora looked away from his brown eyes and frowned, that was cutting it very close. _Too_ close. She wouldn't be able to get across Odaiba from one event to the other in that amount of time. But how could she bring herself to make one friend happy and not the other? She didn't want to let either of them down, but she also couldn't keep information from Tai any longer.

"I was planning on going to Matt's concert at four," she frowned when she saw a flash go through Tai's deep brown eyes, but what was it? She couldn't put her finger on it because it was gone faster than it appeared. "But I'll try my best to make your game too!" She caught herself. She'd try her hardest, she knew she would, but she doubted in the back of her mind that she'd be successful in pulling it off and cursed the gods for making Tai's soccer game and Matt's concert on the same day, so close to one another.

Tai was seemingly satisfied with that. "Well," he began as he pushed himself off the bleachers, shrugging his soccer bag over his right shoulder. "I gotta get home, nice playing today." He returned Sora's smile and waved quickly, turning on his heel to make his way home to his apartment building.

* * *

After finally getting home, Tai had quickly taken a bath. All the running around and stretching he'd done before texting Sora an invite to play had exhausted him out. Then on top of that he'd forgotten how good Sora was which he'd chastised himself for afterwards. After all, they had gone to soccer camp together a few times when they were younger. He smiled at the memory as he pulled on a white long-sleeved tee and tracksuit pants, he had nowhere else to go today so he was content to end his day in comfort.

He wandered out of his room and found himself in the kitchen. Opening the fridge and looking at all of the leftovers, he began the age old debate on whether he was actually hungry or just bored enough to wolf everything down. Deciding that nothing in the fridge was particularly appealing he slid down into a chair at the kitchen table after flicking on the television and letting the anime that was on fill the silence of the house. He hadn't seen anyone around when he'd got home, so they were all most likely out. He knew his dad would be at work, Kari could possibly be in her room, and his mum could be out shopping.

Tai enjoyed when his family wasn't home. That wasn't to say he didn't enjoy it when they were home, he just liked that the silence gave him time to think and sleep in peace. He wondered if Sora would make it to the game tomorrow, she loved soccer just as much as he did, so he knew he could count on her.

But another voice piped up in the back of his mind. Why did he even care? She's allowed to have other plans.

Before he could dwell on it further though, he jumped when a pair of arms wrapped themselves around his slumped shoulders, and lips pecked him quickly on the cheek. Kari giggled and slid into the seat across from him, smoothing out her pink shorts. He noted how she was dressed similarly to when she'd first gone to the Digi-World, pink shorts and a yellow button-up shirt without sleeves.

"What's on your mind?" His younger sisters' question jolted him from his thoughts and he beamed, running his hand through his hair.

"Nothing important, what about you?" Kari shrugged and gave him a smile, turning her head to see what was on the television.

Tai fiddled with his hands for a few minutes, inspecting his nails. He'd have to cut them back, if he came in to contact with anyone on the field and scratched them he could be held accountable. It was stupid, but necessary.

"Hey," he said, Kari turning to look at him, "are you going to be able to make the game tomorrow? Semi-finals and all that."

Kari's smiled softened a little and she quickly averted her gaze from her brother. She did her best to make it to Tai's games, they were very close to each other and hated letting the other one down, though sometimes it just couldn't be helped when plans conflicted.

"I'm sorry Tai-"

Tai just held up his hand and gave her a lopsided smile, one that he was known for doing all the time. "It's all good, birthday party, right?" Kari nodded, her smile returned but she didn't believe for a moment that his was genuine.

Tai could give a huge grin and speak like everything was fine, but when his smile or emotions didn't reach his eyes, that's when she knew that he was mulling over something continuously and everything wasn't actually fine. It wasn't often that he was like this, but when he was Kari knew it'd be difficult to get it out of him.

He was about to ask her what friends' birthday it was this time, when he heard the faint noise of plastic vibrating on wood coming from his room. Realising it was most likely to be his phone, he shot Kari a warm smile and made his way down the hall. He picked up his phone from its place on his desk and slid his thumb across the screen to answer the call, Yamato 'Matt' Ishida's, Tai's best friend and fellow DigiDestined, voice coming from the other end.

" **Tai, how's the bird's nest going?"** If Matt were with him Tai would've shot him a look akin to the one he gave Sora earlier, but settled for a smirk instead.

"Ah, get off it, Ishida. What's up?"

" **Well I've got a concert on tomorrow, and I've got a few more tickets to give out if you can make it?"**

"Sorry, Matt," Tai frowned as he ran his hand through his hair, flopping down onto his bed. "Sora mentioned it to me earlier today but I've got a soccer match." On the other end of the phone, Matt's mouth tugged down at the corners and with a soft thud he let the back of his head hit the bedroom wall.

" **That's okay,"** he began after an awkward moment of silence passed between them, **"bad timing can't really be helped, right?"**

"Yeah." Tai chuckled, but it was hollow. Another uncharacteristically awkward moment of silence passing between them.

" **Hey, Tai, I… Gotta go. Good luck with your game tomorrow, you better win. I'd be pretty disappointed if you ditched my band's performance just to lose, you know."** Tai could pretty much hear Matt's cocky smirk through the phone and laughed in response, a genuine one this time.

"Of course we'll win, I'm the striker, remember? Besides, why would I want to go see your shitty band anyway?" Both teens hooted now, glad the awkwardness was now absent from the phone call for the moment.

" **Alright, see ya."**

"Yeah, later."

Tai repositioned himself on his bed properly as before his legs had been hanging off, he had ignored them until it had become uncomfortable. He placed his hands behind his head and listened to the sound of Kari laughing from the lounge room at something most likely from the television. His thoughts left him for a while and for the few minutes of peace he just let the breeze from the open balcony door sway his mop of brown hair. He let out a contented sigh as his mind drifted in and out of consciousness, leaving him on the peaceful verge of sleep before his head decided Tai Kamiya had enough of a break from his brain today.

' _What happened to the days where we could all be there for each other?'_ He caught himself thinking.

Over the years that they'd grown and matured the original eight DigiDestined had found themselves growing apart. They were still able to make time for each other every few weeks or so, but it wasn't the same, and Tai could plainly see that it was having an effect on everyone.

Joe was almost never around due to the fact he'd gotten in to Tokyo Medical University. The gang had all wanted to meet up and celebrate for it, but Joe shut down their hopes for that by setting down instantaneously to study for it. Now he was either always there, or always studying. Tai remembered the few times they'd actually been able to coax the older boy in to coming out he'd been pale from the lack of sunlight and had dark circles under his eyes due to the obvious lack of sleep. They hated seeing him in such a drained state, but he was doing something towards what he loved, and no one wanted to mess that up for him just because they were feeling nostalgic. Even if it was summer.

Matt's band had become very popular within Odaiba and other districts around Tokyo and were looking to become signed so that they could extend their fan-base. Girls were always pining constantly around Matt and it seemed the small time media attention they had managed to get had put a label on even the blond's smile, calling it 'the Ishida smirk'. Tai had made fun of an embarrassed Matt for it and smiled, remembering that he'd never let him live It down. That's if he was ever not at band practise to do so. His brother, Takeru 'T.K' Takaishi, was the same age as Kari, so as a result he was always with the younger DigiDestined generation. So was Kari for that matter, if they weren't at home, at a gathering, or spending brother-sister quality time together – something that Tai loved to enforce – he didn't see much of his sister.

Sora was working with her mother a lot more often in her flower shop. He could understand this pretty well, a job came with responsibilities that Sora had to attend to. Musing on it, Tai linked this in with everyone. Somewhere along the lines they'd all taken on new responsibilities that had divided up their time for social interaction.

…and Mimi. Mimi still lived in America so that was the whole problem there, really. They hadn't seen Mimi since the DigiDestined had to deal with what they had later come to call the 'Digimon World Tour'.

Even Tai and Izzy had tight schedules when it came down to it.

Izzy was working on helping a friend start up a business in Odaiba after it had taken off in America and Europe so well and it was taking up most of his free time. To his understanding, the redhead was also going to be getting a tech job out of it, something he knew he'd love.

Tai himself had been coaxed by one of his teachers in to studying Government and Law. He'd argued vehemently at first, when it came around to thinking about college, Tai had wanted to go for a sports scholarship and was focused on that. But after weeks of being pressured in to it, Tai had given in and decided to give it a try and, surprisingly enough, he'd actually enjoyed it enough to study for once in his life. Weird, right? Though his studying regime wasn't as heavy as Izzy's or as thorough as Joe's, but it still kept him busy.

He glanced over at his books scattered across his desk – the work he'd neglected recently – and did what he did best when he had schoolwork to do when a soccer game was coming up. He neglected it, knowing full well that he'd stress and do it later on. A habit he should probably get out of.

After thinking about his soccer game and all his friends, Tai picked up his phone to try once more to see if anyone was free. He unlocked it with an easy swipe and scrolled through his contacts to find the name he was looking for. Settling on it, he opened it up and sent off a quick text.

[Izzy, are you busy?]

He looked at his text thoughtfully. Usually he wouldn't go through such great lengths to be grammatically correct, but Izzy did, so as an extension he also felt the need to be when communicating with him through text messages.

 _[Not really, just finished helping Kiria and was on my way home. What's up?]_

Tai smiled, he could always count on Izzy to reply rather quickly. It seemed he was never far from some form of technology. He traced the edge of his phone lightly with his thumb for a moment before replying.

[Nothing important. I was just wondering if you were busy tomorrow.]

Tai tersely chewed his bottom lip while he waited for Izzy's reply. True to form, he barely had to wait two minutes – though it still felt like an eternity.

 _[Well, I was planning on coming back to the offices to finish up a few things.]_

He raised an eyebrow at that, didn't he just say he was finished helping his friend? The brown haired teen tried to remember the man's name but couldn't be bother scrolling back to look, instead quickly batting off another text.

[I thought you said you were finished?]

 _[Finished for today, I meant.]_

Fingering the edges of his phone again, Tai was wondering how to reply when Izzy saved him by sending him another text, the vibration of his phone bringing it to his attention.

 _[You have your soccer game, don't you?]_

[Yeah. But it's cool, if you're busy don't sweat!]

 _[Sorry about that, Tai. I honestly forgot! I'll make it up to you by helping you out with a project or something when the new school year picks back up.]_

He smiled, the thought of having Izzy help him on an assessment was a good one indeed. He'd be sure to pass with flying colours and it made the scowl he didn't know he was wearing soften. He sat up and lazily stretched, not really putting effort in to the movement so not really garnering any of the satisfying cracks that usually came with the motion. He decided to cut off his conversation with Izzy for the night, but before he could, the red haired boy sent him another text. Yawning, he checked it out.

 _[Have you tried asking Mimi?]_

Tai could feel his left eye twitch. Izzy was smart, so why was he suggesting he ask Mimi of all people? The very Mimi who lived in New York. It'd be crazy for even _her_ to fly all the way to Japan just to watch Tai play soccer. Shaking his head in a lack of understanding, Tai replied.

[This might come as a shock to you, dude… But Mimi lives in NY…]

 _[Never mind. I gotta go, but good luck tomorrow.]_

Scratching his head, Tai raised an eyebrow. It was very unusual for Izzy to just cut off a conversation like that. The redhead had an uncanny ability to speak for hours on end, despite his normally awkward behaviour when it came to social interaction. Though this wasn't a subject regarding computers or any other form of technology so he just shrugged and left it, replying would be redundant.

* * *

Though on the other side of Odaiba, the redhead in question was beaming at himself, typing frantically - but accurately – on his phone to set things up. After all, it was the least he could do for Tai after having forgotten about his match. He didn't know whether it was his former leaders' constant dumb luck, or whether the gods were just smiling upon him – but he was going to jump at the chance to make it up to him.

 _Heh, I should've been the one with the crest of friendship_ , he thought with a smirk. _Though knowledge is a lot more fitting in_ this _situation._

His hone buzzing back to him in reply, Izzy's smile only grew wider.

 _You owe me big time, Kamiya._

* * *

 _ **Odaiba – Soccer Fields**_

The hours leading up to his soccer match had gone by slower than Tai would've liked and he found himself cleaning his boots three times over before anyone else in his team had even shown up to the soccer field. At least, being the captain, him turning up early was a good morale boost for the team. If their team captain was prepared and keen then so the rest of the team would be.

He had led the team through some warmups initially and now was just letting them cool off a little before the match against Shibuya High began. He was sitting down with two of his teammates stretching when one of the forwards, Motohama, tapped him on the shoulder.

"What's up?" Tai asked, tilting his head back to see his friend who was scanning the bleachers hesitantly.

"I thought you were getting your sister to come."

"She had plans," he shrugged. Motohama had never bothered to keep his crush on Kari hidden, and it kind of reminded Tai of Davis sometimes, though Davis never bothered Tai about it as much.

"Man," Motohama whined, "you should've done what you could to get her here!" Tai just shrugged, not really in the mood to deal with the shorter teen's complaints when he had a game to focus on.

' _Speaking of…'_ Tai thought as the referee blew the whistle for the two teens to gather in the field, friends, family, and supporters hooting and cheering on the two teams from the stands – and soon after the game was underway.

For most of the match it was a tie between the two teams. Tai's team would manage to get the ball to the other team's goal, but then have the ball stolen off them only to get it back before the other team could score. It seemed like the entire first half was just the two teams chasing after one another with no team gaining the lead and staying at an equal score of one goal each.

After the accustomed pep talk from their coach at half time, the two teams headed back out and began the same song and dance as before, though by the end, thanks to a near perfect setup from Motohama, Tai was able to kick the ball in to the goal. Unfortunately his footing had been off and he'd managed to land awkwardly and roll his ankle. At least he'd gotten the goal still, winning two to one against Shibuya.

As he was getting changed in the locker room, Tai was drowning out his teams' celebrating while contemplating. He was trying to remember the name of the other team captain. He was pretty sure it was similar to his own. Takuya? That sounded right to him but he wasn't sure. Tai shook his head, resorting to searching him up on Facebook later to congratulate him again on a great match, throwing his jersey in to his bag when a piercing voice calling his name caught his attention and all of his teammates seeming to stop talking at that moment as he turned around.

"Taichi Kamiya!"

His eyebrow twitched, how could it be possible? Mimi lived all the way in America and didn't even know that he had a soccer game on today so she wouldn't have been able to know where he was, yet here she was now standing right in front of him in a simple white dress that ended just before her knees with a button up pink shirt unbuttoned over the top. One fist on her hip and the other hand twirling locks of her brown hair through her fingers, a proud smirk on her face.

He just blinked in disbelief. How could Mimi have gotten here? She would've had to have gotten on a plane early yesterday to have gotten here and even then how she found out about his game was beyond him.

He didn't have much time to think about it when the Bearer of Sincerity leapt at him and pulled him in to a hug, crushing his neck with her arms in a surprising display of strength for the girl. After gaining his bearings a broad smile broke out on Tai's face and he returned the hug, placing his arms around Mimi's waist and swinging her around. He set her down and she broke the hug, laughing to herself.

"It's been so long since I've seen you, Tai!" He gave her a goofy smile before replying.

"I know, how have you been?"

She opened her mouth to reply when she seemed to note her surroundings or the first time. She had just blindly walked in to the male's changing room after finding out that's where Tai's team had headed after the match and didn't think twice on what that meant. Tai's entire team had heard the commotion made by the girl and now they were all staring at the girl in the room. Mimi looked around and blushed a little, realising that most of the boys around her were half naked after beginning to get changed but having become distracted by celebrating.

She looked back to Tai who was now regarding her with a raised eyebrow, a look of curiosity on his face. Her blush deepened when she realised Tai too had apparently been in the middle of changing when she barged in. She had been so caught up in seeing and congratulating her friend that she hadn't even bothered to think, now she felt just a little intrusive. As she looked over his athletic body she fought back a blush and a look of realisation became known on Tai's face.

He fought back a blush when a few of his teammates – which he knew could only have been Motohama and Tsukune – began to call out and whistle at him.

"Uh… How about I just wait for you outside?" Mimi asked.

"Y-yeah, that'd probably be best." Tai agreed, rubbing the back of his head with his hand.

Mimi nodded and turned on her heel, not bothering to look at any of his teammates who were calling out jokes to Tai about his girlfriend coming to congratulate him as she briskly made her way out of the exit and back over to the field to sit on the bleachers.

"Come on, Tai!" Motohama whined again. "First Kari doesn't come to the game, now you won't tell me about your cute girlfriend out there?" Tai shook his head and smiled at his friend.

"I told you, Motohama, she's not my girlfriend." Tai was amazed at how dense the blond could be sometimes. "She's just an old friend who moved away some time ago."

"So that means she's on the table then?" Stars appeared in Motohama's eyes and he pumped a fist in the air.

Tai let out a sharp laugh. "You don't have a chance in the world, man. Mimi's a high matinence kinda girl, and with your fashion sense you'd be lucky for her to remember your name."

"Fine," he sighed dejectedly.

After feeling like he'd successfully saved Mimi from Motohama, Tai congratulated his team before walking out. If only he could get him to leave Kari alone then he'd really feel as if he'd done his community a service today. Motohama wasn't a bad guy, he just wasn't the kind of guy you'd want dating your sister.

Tai made his way on to the field and after seeing Mimi sitting patiently on the bleachers, he waved her over. She jogged over to him and Tai quickly looked away to both stop his gaze from wandering over the female, and also to fight back the blush at the thought.

' _Come on, Kamiya,'_ he thought, _'pull yourself together. That's Mimi.'_

"Tai," she greeted, hugging him again.

Tai returned the hug quickly and smiled as they began to walk away from the fields.

"It's been too long, Mimi." Tai readjusted his duffel bag on his shoulder and shoved his left hand into his pocket. "Why are you in Japan?"

Mimi looked at Tai out of the corner of her eyes. After a minute she looked away and gazed over the street, pondering if she should tell him or not. She did really want it to be a surprise that she could tell everyone at once, but after talking with Izzy she thought that it might be a little difficult to get everyone together to tell them all the good news.

Her fists clenched a little at the buttons of her pink over shirt and she bit her bottom lip as she contemplated it a little more.

"Well?" Tai coaxed lightly.

"Well," Mimi smiled broadly, "I've moved back to Japan!" She squealed, she'd been wanting to tell someone for the longest time. She'd spoken to Izzy but she'd told him that she was just coming on a visit. She supposed she'd just have to go and visit everyone as a surprise and tell them separately.

"As in today?" Tai raised an eyebrow.

"Today." Mimi confirmed. "Daddy is planning on moving the family back to Odaiba in the next week and after forever I was able to convince them to let me come on ahead of them."

"That's so cool!" Tai grinned as the two started walking. He was heading to his apartment and from what he could guess, Mimi was either heading the same direction by coincidence, or was just tagging along in the same direction so she could talk and catch up. The latter was what Tai decided was the most likely, after all, Mimi loved to talk sometimes.

"Oh, and by the way, Tai, congratulations on winning today. You guys looked like you played really well. Not that I get why you still play soccer." Mimi nudged him in the side with her elbow and laughed.

"Yeah, well, some of us like to have hobbies _other_ than shopping, Mimi. But, thanks." Mimi laughed and let the jab go by, she loved shopping and would much rather prefer that than running around getting sweaty for no real reason.

"You know, it'll be good to finally see the whole team in the same town again." Tai added after a few moments of silence. Mimi looked at him and nodded with a sad smile.

She had thought of the same thing at first, but her talk with Izzy changed her mind as to how it would play out in reality compared to how she thought. Izzy had been under the assumption that Mimi was just visiting, she hadn't told him she was actually moving yet, and had texted her yesterday about Tai's game. She had gotten very excited and said that she couldn't wait to see everyone there, but was disappointed when he had broken it to her that she may very well be the only one who turned up.

"It sucks that none of the others could make it to your game though, Tai." Tai just waved a dismissive hand at the comment.

"It's alright, everyone has things that they need to do or other promises they needed to keep, and it couldn't be helped." Mimi's frown deepened and she wanted to change the topic, so she stopped walking and waited for Tai to turn around. When he did so with a quizzical expression, she punched him in the arm, puffing out her cheeks.

"What the hell was that for?" Tai complained, rubbing his arm. Mimi sure could punch herder than he thought.

"That, my dear old friend _Taichi_ ," he shivered at her threatening use of his full name, "is for not inviting me to your soccer game!" She huffed and crossed her arms and walked ahead of him, piling up the dramatics to get under his skin.

"I didn't know you'd be in Japan!" Tai defended as he jogged to catch up to her. Mimi smirked and put her hands in to the pockets of her cardigan.

"I don't care." She said sweetly. Tai just sighed, the only verbal confirmation she needed to know that she had won. "Honestly, how you could've just negated inviting me like that."

Tai smirked and narrowed his eyes mischievously. "Wow, Mimi, I'm surprised you used a word like 'negated' in the correct context." Mimi's left eye twitched slightly and she glared daggers at the still smirking teen.

The two held their stares at one another in an unspoken competition to see who could get the other one to back down first. Tai feigned a yawn and shifted his weight to his right foot. Mimi cocked an eyebrow and straightened up, hoping to intimidate Tai. She was a far-cry from the whiny 11 year old Tai had first met back at Summer Camp, and was now known for having some of the most vicious stares out of all the DigiDestined; only being beaten – in Tai's personal opinion – by Matt and Yolei. But he was the Bearer of Courage, and there was _no way_ he'd lose to Mimi Tachikawa in such an unimportant and trivial matter as a sudden staring competi-…

His stomach growled. Rather loudly, at that.

In surprise, his eyebrows shot up and he looked down at his still growling stomach. Mimi pumped a fist in the air and then shoved it into Tai's face, forming the peace symbol with her fingers and poking out her tongue.

"Yeah, yeah." Tai grumbled, knowing he'd lost. Whatever though, he was more concerned with food right now and was glad they were so close to his apartment building. The two resumed their walk in silence, that is, if you can count Mimi's smug snickering as silent.

They reached Tai's apartment building and he turned around, suddenly curios about something he hadn't asked the young woman yet. "Hey, were are you staying until your parents make it out here?"

"Oh, I'm going to be staying in our apartment on my own until they arrive." She looked at herself in the mirrored walls of the elevator, smiling after readjusting her bangs to frame her face better.

"On your own, huh? Jeez, that'd be hell for you." Tai smirked. He didn't know why he was making so many jabs at Mimi considering that she'd made the effort to come see him at soccer today, but shrugged it from his mind. He'd thank Mimi again properly for it later, right now it was nice to just be natural and catch up.

"I'll have you know," Mimi paused and turned to him, waving a finger side to side with a sage-like look on her face, "that I am _very_ self-sufficient."

Tai snorted mockingly and resisted the urge to laugh. "You? Self-sufficient? I find that pretty difficult to believe."

"Hey!" A mock hurt expression crossed her face as the elevator door opened to Tai's floor with a _ding_ and they walked out. She turned to him and placed a hand over her heart. "What makes you think that exactly?"

Tai stopped in his tracks and closed his eyes, placing his chin on his hand in mock thought for a few moments. Mimi looked at him with a scowl, knowing he was about to make some snarky remark, most likely in reference to something from their adventures in the past.

"Does ' _Princess Mimi'_ ring any bells?" Mimi turned away and scowled, remembering the selfish moment in her life when she was Princess at the Gekomon Castle. She'd even gone so far as to have Tai, Joe, Agumon, Gomamon, and Palmon locked up in the dungeon for defying her. Not her proudest moment, but none of them had held it against her seriously.

Tai laughed and headed to his apartment door a few meters down the outdoor hall, Mimi huffed and followed him. She saw that family still had their nameplate hung up above the intercom and a small plant just under that. For a moment she wondered if the plant was fake and reached out a hand to test it, but Tai turned to her.

"Hey," he began, catching her attention. She withdrew her hand and raised her eyebrows a little, signalling for him to continue. "Did you want me to take you to your apartment? I mean, you did go to the effort to surprise me at soccer and I thought it'd be… you know, polite or whatever." He awkwardly rubbed the back of his head.

"Actually," Mimi smiled rather awkwardly, "I'm in this apartment building now too, just two floors down. Mama and Papa wanted to move back to the Odaiba Mansion complex but found a more appealing apartment here." She clasped her hands behind her back and shifted her weight from side to side.

"Oh." Was all Tai could think to say, he hadn't expected that. He recovered quickly and smiled at his friend. "That's cool! But don't think it means I'm your automatic default friend to go to for when you want to go on one of your eighty hour shopping sprees."

Mimi shot him a look. She didn't shop for _that_ long and was rather offended, after all, it wasn't her fault that every store always seemed to be having a sale and every store seemed to have gorgeous clothes and accessories.

She made to reply with her own sarcastic comment when the door opened up to reveal a brown haired girl just slightly shorter than Mimi herself. She smiled upon seeing the two, but mainly kept her focus on Tai as he was standing in the doorway, and by extension, in her way.

"Hey," Kari made to greet her brother when the realisation of exactly who was next to Tai clicked in her head. She was usually unfazed when a girl turned up at home with her brother. He'd had a few girlfriends over the years, and Sora did come to visit every now and then, but…

"Mimi!" Kari squealed and jumped at the girl, throwing her arms around her waist. Mimi returned the gesture with a quiet laugh, happy to see the younger Kamiya as much as she would've been to see any of the others.

"It's been so long, hasn't it?" Mimi asked as the two pulled apart. Kari didn't reply to her and instead turned on her heel to face her brother, raising her index finger.

"One: how come you didn't tell me Mimi was coming?" She accused.

"Hey, I didn't know either! She kind of just was there in the male changing rooms after my soccer match and surprised me." Tai raised his hands in a placating gesture and Mimi turned her face so that her hair hid the blush on her cheeks. Not one of her less embarrassing moments for sure. Usually she wouldn't have been, but she had been caught completely unaware of where she was. Kari didn't seem to take much thought into the comment and instead continued to press Tai, raising her middle finger to join her index as she listed off what he assumed would be another accusation.

"Two: I'm going to steal Mimi away from you for now. I've got to grab a few things for Mum for dinner so I'll be back soon." Kari turned to the other brunette and grabbed her arm, a huge smile on her face. Her blush long gone now, Mimi smiled back at her and walked off with her. As the two girls made their way down the outdoor corridor, Mimi looked back over their shoulders and waved to Tai before excitedly engaging in conversation with Kari.

Tai just shook his head with a smile and walked inside the still open door, wincing when he pulled it shut a little harder than he intended too. He called out a greeting to his mother as he slipped his shoes off, knowing his father, Susumu, wouldn't be home from work just yet. Yuuko barraged him with questions and told him about the casserole she was going to make for dinner when Kari got back from the store. Tai paled, if there was anything that tasted worse than his mother's liver sticks, it was her infamous casserole. His mother wasn't exactly a _bad_ cook, but she enjoyed experimenting, much to the lament of her two children. His dad never seemed to mind though, he'd always had a weird taste.

After surviving the onslaught of questions from his mother, Tai had found himself in his room. He lazily discarded his soccer bag aside, telling himself he'd clean his gear tomorrow and changed clothes. Part of him wanted to get straight into his pyjamas, but he decided against it, instead throwing on a pair of blue jeans and a white long-sleeved tee, an unbuttoned button-down shirt thrown over the top.

He flopped down lazily on to his bed, letting out a content sigh as he did so. He knew that when she got home, Kari would pester him to help her with dinner so that they could prevent their mother from experimenting with to recipe too much. Until then, he was ready to relax his muscles after a long day, he was looking forward to a bath after dinner. He could see it in his mind now, the steam rising from the warm inviting water.

Somewhere along the line of Tai daydreaming about his bath, time seemed to jump forward and it had gotten close to being dark out, the sun setting over the buildings of Odaiba. His attention was captured momentarily by a commotion coming from the kitchen, but he didn't bother to go and see what it was. He knew it would just be Kari and his mother messing about in the kitchen or the two women scolding his father for trying to sneak some food in while they were cooking it.

A knock at his door made Tai raise an eyebrow. He uttered a come in and the door opened to reveal Mimi. Tai's raised eyebrow of curiosity became a bewildered, wide-eyed look of confusion at seeing the brunette.

"Mimi?" He asked as she made her way over to his desk, sitting herself down in his chair and resting her chin on the back of her hand.

"That would be my name, yes." She replied. Tai rolled his eyes in response before continuing.

"What are you doing here?" She regarded him for a moment.

"Well while Kari and I were at the store, she invited me over for dinner to catch up and when I came in your mother insisted that I was a guest and didn't have to help cook." She waved her other hand nonchalantly, she'd pressed Mrs Kamiya quite a lot, insisting that she'd love to help out as a favour for letting her stay for dinner. The older woman had wanted none of it though and told Mimi that she was their guest and she'd feel bad if she helped out. Instead, she pointed her to Tai's room and said she was free to annoy him to her hearts' content.

"Oh. I see." With a sigh he laid back down on his bed and looked across at Mimi, wondering if she was going to say anything else. Instead she had her gaze fixated out the glass door of Tai's balcony – that also connected to Kari's room – and was watching the sun fall slowly behind her old hometown.

"I've missed this." She whispered loudly enough for Tai to hear. He rolled on his side and followed her gaze outside. Though he couldn't see the sun setting he figured that must've been what she meant.

"Weren't the sunsets as good in New York?" Mimi shook her head and smiled.

"Don't get me wrong, they were _so_ beautiful. Especially if you were in Central Park when it set, but it just doesn't compare to home, you know? The best thing is knowing that I can see it for every night to come now." Her smile stayed on her face and her eyes gained a wistful look to them.

Tai stood up to look at the view as well. He had to admit, whenever he noticed it, he always did appreciate how beautiful it was, but he never really thought it was anything special. He took in to account that Mimi rarely ever got the chance to visit Japan while living in America, he wondered if she'd thought this every time she had been able to visit. It was most likely. He could sympathise with her on this to some small degree, after they had all lived in the Digital World for some amount of time.

He was distracted from his thoughts when he heard a beeping noise. Walking over to his bed he searched for his phone. The beeping stopped and he couldn't find it at first, but after feeling around under his pillow he grasped it. He hit the button to bring the screen to life but frowned. It hadn't been his phone that had made the noise so what was it.

As it started back up again, Tai pocketed his phone and his eyes locked on his soccer bag. Mimi's attention was now caught by it too and she watched Tai staring at his bag with interest. He walked over to it and knelt down by it.

"What is it?" She asked. Tai looked up at her with confusion written across all his features.

"Well it's just that…" he shook his head as it stopped again. "The only thing in my soccer bag that could be beeping is" He was interrupted by it starting back up again. He unzipped it and his head began racing with questions.

"Well?" Mimi asked impatiently as Tai reached in. She gasped when he pulled out his Digivice which stopped its beeping. The screen was flashing to orange and then growing dark again, repeating this non-stop.

Both teens looked at each other and were at a loss for words. Tai's head swam with millions of unanswerable questions, Mimi was about to voice many of these questions as similar ones were pelting through her own mind, but jumped when another beeping sound started. It was similar to the one coming from Tai's Digivice, but it sounded… closer?

In a flurry, Mimi pulled her pink over shirt to the side and reached in to the pocket on the side of her dress. She pulled out her Digivice and gasped again, showing it to Tai as his joined in the light beeping. Similar to his device flashing orange, Mimi's was flashing green in sync to his.

The beeping died down after a few minutes of stunned silence, and the two looked at each other, the flashing subsided and now their screens just held the solid colours of orange and green.

"What's going on, Tai?" Mimi asked, but Tai shook his head.

"I don't know…" He admitted. "Are the batteries dying? Do they even _have_ batteries?" Mimi shook her head at his questions.

"Tai, we've had them for six years now, if they needed batteries they'd have died long before now."

"Maybe the Digimon are trying to get in contact with us?" He looked out the window in contemplation.

The portals had been closed to the Digital World ever since MaloMyotismon's defeat so that it could rebuild and strengthen its barriers once again. The power sacrificed by Oikawa had only done so much to help and the crests the original eight held had been weakened from it so even their power had been diminishing. As a result, the younger generation had to give up the power of their digimentals so that the Digital World's defences could be repaired once again, though it would be a lot more difficult due to the amount of times it had been taken down in the past.

If asked in that moment, why she had done what she did, Mimi wouldn't have had an answer for you. If you had asked Tai in that moment why he joined her in it, he too wouldn't have had an answer.

Mimi stood up and looked at the computer monitor sitting on Tai's desk, she turned her body towards it and tightened her clutch on her Digivice. Tai moved to stand by her side and she looked up at him over her shoulder. He gave her a nod and smiled.

"What's the worst that could happen?" He asked as the same plan raced through Mimi's mind.

Mimi returned the smile and the two raised their Digivices to Tai's monitor. The dark screen grew bright and in a flash of light Tai and Mimi were sucked in like a tractor beam.

* * *

 _ **Author's Note;**_

 _ **Well, there's our first DigiDestined Chapter! The next chapter things will start to pick up as our heroes tackle a new threat**_ **and _get an upgrade!_**

 _ **Leave a review if you've got anything you'd like to say or anything to point out to me. As always, I look forward to your suport.**_


	5. Extermination

_**Tales of the Tamers: Act 1  
Chapter 04: Extermination**_

* * *

 _ **Digital World**_

His hand brushed against something soft as he raised it to rub his bleary eyes. Tai began to slowly regain consciousness, trying to remember what happened. He had been in his room, talking with… Mimi. He'd been talking with Mimi and then they'd heard an alarm of sorts.

Brushing the thoughts aside for the moment, he tried to open his eyes but they were just so heavy. How long had he been out for? He couldn't tell but it felt like it'd been years at the least. He hadn't felt this tired since that time he'd travelled to France with T.K on the back of Imperialdramon. Simply travelling at the sheer speed they had and then dealing with rogue digimon had been draining.

His Digivice! The memory came back in full force. He remembered that he had been in his room, talking with Mimi when their Digivices had gone off. They'd raised their Digivices to his computer and then were consumed by a bright light. But after that his memory was a complete blank. Rubbing his eyes more vigorously he was able to open them a little. Eventually his blurred vision cleared and he was able to look around.

His gaze shifted straight from the roof to his left where he could see futons spread out and a sliding door. Resting his chin on his chest to look down, he spied two things that caught his attention. First was a television set sitting on a footrest along the spartan wall, the second extinguished all of the grogginess from within Tai's being, alarms ringing through his body.

Mimi was sprawled out on top of Tai. Her head rested on his chest and her legs were entangled in his. Tai, in all descriptive forms, freaked out. He tried to move but the unconscious girl was too intertwined around him. He took a few deep, steady breaths to calm himself. Why was he even freaking out? It wasn't his fault that every time they travelled through a Digi-gate they threw them out into a piled heap.

Tai took a breath, and thought of a plan. It was simple, really. All he had to do was wait for Mimi to stir, and as she moved away, he'd quickly untwine himself from her and save an awkward situation. Then he could find out what exactly was going on.

Much to Tai's luck, Mimi began to regain consciousness soon thereafter.

She clenched her eyes shut and yawned, nuzzling her head into her sturdy pillow. She stopped clenching her eyes and let her eyelids relax at that. Sturdy? A pillow should've been soft and fluffy, not sturdy. Slowly Mimi shifted her body and sat up, rubbing her eyes, another yawn escaping her lips after she drew in a deep breath. She forced open her eyes and took in the surroundings of the spartan room for a moment.

Feeling a headache coming on, she massaged the edges of her temple in a bid to alleviate it before it came in full force. "Ugh… I wonder where I am…" She grunted, a sigh following shortly thereafter. She turned her head around when she heard a familiar voice pipe up.

"Well I can tell you it's definitely not _Kansas_ anymore. I'd say the best bet is the Digiworld." Tai was standing up. He took a few steps backwards to lean up against the wall and Mimi wondered why he looked like he was blushing, but she couldn't be sure if he was due to the dim light of the room.

"Oh, Tai! How long have we been here for?"

"I can't say for sure, I only came to myself just now." Tai answered, shaking his head. Mimi frowned but it was washed away when the sliding door to her right opened up and yet another familiar voice spoke up.

"Perhaps _I_ can answer that for you." The two teens looked to the side and their faces lit up with delight. Gennai was standing there in all his youthful glory, his teal robes donned and hair tied back into a small ponytail, a beaming smile on his face.

"Gennai!" Both teens called out in surprise, the human-digimon's smile growing even bigger, revealing his pearly teeth.

"How's it been, kiddos? Long-time no see!" He bowed before the two of them, sweeping his right arm out dramatically.

Mimi stood up and made her way over to the man, Tai joining her after a second. "So I guess the Digiworld was definitely the correct answer." Mimi said. She folded one arm across her chest, and rested her elbow on it, placing her hand on her chin thoughtfully. "Gennai, what's going on? Why were we called here again?"

Gennai regarded her for a moment before answering. "How about we save the questions for later? I'm going to explain everything, but for now, the others are waiting. If you'll kindly follow me into the other room?"

And with that, Gennai gave the two one last smile and turned on his heel, walking back out of the sliding door he had entered from and made his way down the short hall. Tai and Mimi followed him without another question. At the end of the hall, Gennai opened up the sliding door and let them pass through ahead of him. Mimi looked around the room and a part of her was disappointed, but another part of her lit up in delight.

Just like the room she woke up in previously, this room was mostly spartan in appearance, with the left hand wall being made up entirely of draws. The wall opposite them held the front door, and in front of them was a low table. Sitting at this table were three of her fondest memories however. Matt, Izzy, and Sora. The latter of the three had looked up when Gennai opened the door and stood up at the sight of Mimi.

With an excited squeal Sora jumped over the table, bumping it in the process of her lightning fast bolt towards the brunette. She threw her arms around Mimi and the two spun around, laughing all the while in joy.

"Mimi!"

"Oh my God, Sora!" The two broke their embrace, but Sora kept her arms on her friends' shoulders, looking at her up and down to see how much she'd changed in the past three years.

"It feels like it's been forever! You look great!"

As the two girls continued their reunion, Tai decided that he'd rather not have his ears deafened by the squealing young women and made his way over to Matt and Izzy. The former had some bowls of rice spread out in front of him and was scraping some fallen rice into one of the empty bowls – the result of Sora knocking the table earlier in her excitement. Izzy too had some bowls of rice near him, but they were mostly ignored due to him typing away frantically on his laptop. Tai briefly wondered what he was doing, but decided against asking. It was most likely something that would require an excessively long explanation that, in the end, he wouldn't understand anyway.

He sat down beside Matt and the blond raised his fist up. Tai bumped his own against Matt's and the two chuckled.

"What's up?" Tai asked, hoping his friend had some answers. But Matt shook his head, he knew just as much as Tai.

"Dunno yet." He admitted. "Get this in you though, Gennai sure can cook." Matt pushed a bowl of rice and curry over to Tai and the brunet accepted it without hesitation. He picked up a pair of chopsticks and began to dig in, Izzy looking up from his laptop.

"Obviously the Digiworld needs us for something again. Whatever it is, Gennai hasn't told us yet." Tai frowned in between mouthfuls of rice. A thought popped in to his head and he turned towards Matt.

"So Matt," he began to gain his friends' attention, "how'd your concert turn out? Pick up any _girls_ afterwards?" Tai nudged Matt in the ribs with his elbow and chuckled. Izzy looked between the two and shook his head, a ghost of a smile hitting his lips.

"Hah, Nah." Matt replied after he shoved Tai's elbow back. "Sora and I raced back to mine after the concert finished because the Digivices started going nuts." Tai frowned a little.

' _So Sora had ended up going to Matt's concert, huh?'_ He thought to himself. He caught his bitter tone and shook his head, it didn't matter what Sora chose to do, after all. She was a mature young woman who could make her own decisions. Besides, she probably made an effort to turn up to his game but just couldn't. Matt started talking again and he looked back to him to pay attention.

"The turnout wasn't too bad. It wasn't our biggest, but it was still good." Matt smiled to himself, remembering the rush of adrenaline he and his bandmates had gotten whilst performing, the roar of the local crowd egging them on. "Tell me that you and your crappy soccer team won?"

Tai chuckled and gave him a thumbs up after placing his empty rice bowl down. "Sure did, buddy! We kicked Shibuya three to two." Tai's triumphant grin was replaced by a dirty look shot at Izzy when the redhead chuckled and decided to add in his two cents on the conversation.

"Bet you loved the surprise at the end too."

Matt regarded Tai with a judgemental eye, not liking being out of the loop. "What's he mean by that?" He asked. Tai jerked a thumb behind him at the two girls who were just finishing playing catch-up.

"You'll never guess," he said, "but Mimi turned up to see the game. I didn't know up until afterwards." He decided to leave out the part where Mimi had walked in to the male changing room. Matt would never have let her live it down if he heard, not that Tai would either though.

"Mimi's in Japan?" Matt blinked a few times in surprise. "That's so cool."

"Sure is!" Mimi added as she and Sora joined the three boys at the table. She had caught the last part of their conversation as she approached and was glad Tai had left out the part where she walked in to the male change rooms. Matt would never have let her live it down, not that she thought Tai would either.

"I was going to come see you all eventually to tell you the good news, but this saves me the time." She laughed, but upon realising something was off for the first time she looked around and noticed their numbers were a little lower than usual. "But uh… Where's Joe?"

"That's actually something that's been bugging me too. We've all been here for a while now and there's not a sign of him." Izzy powered down his laptop having finished what he was doing and looked at Gennai who had been patiently standing at the end of the table, watching with delight as the original Chosen Children talked. "When exactly can we be expecting Joe?"

Gennai turned to the redhead and shook his head with a sympathetic smile on his face. "When the signal was sent out to your Digivices, yours were the only ones that responded." He said. "Joe either didn't have it on him-…."

"Or he ignored it." Matt interrupted with a disgruntled snort. Tai looked at him with a raised eyebrow, how could Matt just jump the gun like that? He tabled the thought aside for later when Sora spoke up.

"So what about the younger kids? And T.K. and Kari?" For the first time since arriving, Tai thought about his sister. Why wasn't she called? She and T.K. were both a part of the original group just as much as them, even if they made up the first members of the younger team.

"Well that's just the thing." Gennai interrupted before Tai could add to Sora's question. "It's kind of a delicate situation. As you all know, after the defeat of Apocalymon we had to use the power from your crests to help heal the Digiworld from the damage he caused it and to free the Sovereign. Then, after MaloMyotismon we had to take the power of their Digimentals to assume the new protective roles."

"Which means that you can't take them back yet to give them any added power." Izzy's question was more of a statement, he was sure of it to be the only logical conclusion, and wasn't surprised when Gennai nodded.

"That's right," Gennai chuckled, "the crest of knowledge really does become you, Koushiro." Izzy blushed at the compliment and Gennai made his way over to the wall of drawers opposite him and knelt down, opening up one of the lower ones and retrieving something from it.

"Speaking of," he opened up his hand after making his way back to the table and the five gathered teens gasped. Gennai handed each of them their old crests. Courage, Friendship, Love, Knowledge, and Sincerity. He placed Joe's crest of reliability on the table and Matt glared at it, Tai noticing his glare and becoming confused again. Just what was his deal?

"The other reason we called you older kids" he began again, "is because, for now, we're able to give you back the power of your crests so that your Digimon can digivolve easier. Though the crests of hope, kindness, and light couldn't be relinquished. Taking _too_ much of the crest power away would be disastrous, and with the crests of hope, kindness, and light being the strongest of all, we just simply couldn't risk it."

Izzy furrowed his brow upon hearing that. On one hand, he could understand where Gennai was coming from. But on the other, he couldn't help but feel like it was just _convenient_. He frowned mentally and buried the thoughts deep in his mind, it wouldn't do any good for him to dwell on it, and besides, now he _definitely_ knew they had a purpose for being called back. There was no doubt about it if they were even getting the boost to their crest power back.

"This all sounds well and cool," Tai interjected, "Gennai, but what exactly are we up against here?" He swept his hand across the group for emphasis. "Last time we were summoned here every battle we fought up until Apocalymon turned out to be just a test for the next guy who decided they wanted to destroy everything." Matt nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, no offence," the blond added, "I'm willing to help out, but I'd rather not find out that almost dying time and time again amounts to nothing but some _test_." He unfolded his arms and turned his entire body towards Gennai expectantly.

Gennai raised his right hand in a placating gesture, he knew Tai and Matt could get a little hot headed and didn't want them to jump the gun if he could help it. The two boys seemed to relax the tension in their bodies at his movement and he was glad that they respected him to that extent.

"I'll get to that in just a sec. First, I'll need your Digivices. Koushiro, may I also borrow your laptop?"

"Sure thing." Izzy booted up his laptop and slid it across the table in front of Gennai, who knelt down to use it. He pulled a portable flash drive out of his pocket and inserted it into a port on the side of Izzy's laptop. "This shan't take long." The five teens looked on in curiosity as one by one, Gennai plugged their Digivices into the port he had installed on Izzy's laptop in the part and typed away. After he ran each Digivice through its course, he smiled in satisfaction. After fifteen minutes, he had handed them back their Digivices and pocketed the flash drive. He powered down Izzy's laptop and handed it back to him.

"In case you hadn't noticed, your Digivices are, err – _were,_ a little outdated. The data I just run through them should rectify that little problem."

Mimi turned her Digivice around in her hands. It was small, even in comparison to her petite hands. She remembered when they were younger that the devices had seemed bigger. "Thanks, Gennai, but um…" She turned it around in her palm once more, checking again for any sign of a physical change. "They don't really look like you've even _done_ anything to them."

And as if some sort of cosmic power was working against her, the Digivices began to glow and the teenagers could feel them changing shape in their hand. Gennai smirked as he watched the events unfold. When the lights from the devices died down, a new model Digivice was held by each teen.

Izzy regarded them with wonder. He turned it around in his hand and took a mental note of all of the features. Four buttons sat underneath a large black screen. Two looked like directional buttons on either side of a central white button, and slightly above them and to the left was a smaller orange button. A clip was attached to the top, as well as one on the back of the device. A white ring was placed around the screen to finish it off. Upon glancing at the others' Digivices, Izzy realised that each of theirs was a different colour.

His own was purple in colour, while Tai's was orange, Sora's red, Mimi's green, and Matt's a light shade of blue.

"D-3's eat your heart out!" Tai exclaimed, Matt giving a surprised grunt in agreement.

"While I agree with Tai and Matt on that sentiment, I'm curious as to what exactly these upgrades entail." Izzy turned to face Gennai, hoping he had answers for him.

"Boys and Girls, say hello to the newest model Digivice, curtesy of Azulongmon. We call these ones 'D-Arks', and as their namesake implies they are more powerful and can transfer more energy in to data to provide to your Digimon during battle. We aren't even sure of the full extent of their power yet, but from our observations they can supply a more direct link with your partners, and even have their own built-in Digimon Analyser."

"So you're saying we'll be stronger this time around?" Sora asked.

"Yes," Gennai replied, smiling, "but now on to the potential crisis at hand." His tone grew serious and the five teenagers seemed to lean in closer to concentrate more on what he was about to say.

"Recently, we've been detecting something slowing down the healing rate of the Digital World, and it's progressively getting slower and slower. We're not sure exactly what it is, but Azulongmon has managed to trace one point of origin of the anomaly from here on File Island." Tai's ears perked up at that. So they were on File Island? He didn't remember ever seeing the building they were currently in when they were first on their adventure.

"Azulongmon believed there to be a small force here at work, so I came to do some scouting for him, just to check to see if we were only being paranoid. Unfortunately, as it turns out, Azulongmon's hunch was correct." He turned to face Izzy.

"You remember the Automaton Factory, yes?" Izzy frowned for a moment, before realisation dawned his features and memories of Tentomon digivolving for the time to Kabuterimon to help Greymon and Garurumon rescue Andromon from the clutches of a black gear flooded his mind.

"Of course, that was the first time Kabuterimon appeared to kick some serious butt." Gennai nodded in satisfaction.

"Well, the Automaton Factory has been taken over by a small contingency of Parasimon. At first, they didn't seem to be too much of a threat and I began to doubt they were even the cause of it but after watching them for a while, I observed that they would delete any Digimon that came anywhere near the factory. I've since steered any Digimon in the vicinity away to prevent any more innocent digimon being harmed." Gennai crossed him arms in his massive sleeves and frowned, remembering the ugly sight he'd witnessed that was now a permanent scar on his mind. He mentally shook the horrid memories away and focused back on the DigiDestined gathered around the table in front of him, all with shocked expressions on their faces.

"So they've just been deleting innocent Digimon that happen to stumble past them!?" Matt slammed his fist down on the table, rattling some of the bowls on it. Tai shared his friend's scowl, he didn't like the idea of knowing he had already been too late to potentially save lives, and frankly, it quaked his bones in irritation.

"Azulongmon believes that it's possible that they aren't working alone. Parasimon are mega level Digimon, but they're very weak when on their own. But when working in hordes, they can be very overwhelming."

Izzy brought his hand to his chin in thought, mulling over all the information Gennai had given them so far. From what it sounded like, they didn't seem like anything more than just a potentially large group of bullies, but after all of the events in league with the Digital World in the past, he'd learnt quickly not to take anything it threw at he and his friends' at face value. As they were so often reminded, there was always a higher power at work, and thinking there wouldn't be – he knew – was too naïve.

"What do these Parasimon look like, exactly?" He asked.

Gennai walked over to the wall of drawers once again and pulled out a card similar to the ones he had given them to help solve the puzzle of Myotismon's dimensional gate. On it was an image of a disgusting, purple spider-like Digimon. His legs and front were armoured, a large eye gazing lifelessly from the front of its body. Its abdomen was larger and unprotected, but a red lipped mouth with razor sharp teeth encompassed the majority of it. Mimi shivered at the sight of it, it sure wasn't the prettiest flower in the bunch; _that_ much was for sure.

"Oh, kinda wish I hadn't asked." Izzy muttered, studying the card in detail.

"I agree with you on that one." Sora added.

"So you want us to go out there, stop them from whatever they're trying to do, and find out if anyone's pulling the strings?" Matt questioned, taking his gaze from the card to Gennai.

"Spot on, Yamato." He answered. Matt frowned for a second at the use of his full name, not as used to it from the human-digimon as Izzy was.

Tai stood up with a determined expression on his face, gripping his new Digivice tightly in his hand. His ever present sense of determination shining through as the leader prepared to assume his role once again. "So, are we all in?" He beamed.

"Count me in." Matt stood up and placed his hand on Tai's shoulder, the two bumping fists once more.

"Wouldn't want it any other way!" Mimi got up with a stretch and joined the two boys.

"Right, we're still DigiDestined after all." Sora added, joining the group and turning to Izzy. He packed his laptop in to his carry pack and slung it over his shoulder.

"Guess we should be off then, no time to waste, right?"

Gennai regarded the group with admiration.

They so willingly were able to pick up the burden placed upon their shoulders and step up on an impossible pedestal, ready to face insurmountable odds and overcome them at any cost. His admiration was also coupled with regret. Regret that they continually had to call upon them for assistance. Regret that they had to constantly pull them away from their friends, families, and lives to throw them into the blinding and ever-changing tides of fate, not knowing if they'd come out unscathed physically or emotionally. He thrust the thoughts from his head, best not to dwell too long on them.

"Then it's settled! But first, we've got another reunion to attend to." Gennai smiled, gesturing for them to follow him outside.

* * *

 _ **Automaton Factory**_

Their reunion had unfortunately been short lived. After having walked outside the small, barely outfitted house that Gennai had summoned the Chosen Children to, they had been reunited with Agumon, Gabumon, Tentomon, Biyomon, and Palmon. They had spoken and laughed, and as much as he had hated having to do it, a short few minutes after they'd said their hello's, Gennai had made them focus on the task at hand.

Having already filled the Digimon in previously, he led them out of the forest the house had been in and across the short way the factory. Mimi had spoken up about the lack of any Digimon roaming around, and Gennai had turned to face her with his face set sombrely in stone and clarified that he hadn't been saying it lightly when he mentioned that he'd evacuated Digimon from the area.

Now, Gennai having left them upon arriving, they were walking through the factory. Despite his warning of caution, Izzy couldn't help but take note of how empty the entire place seemed. The automated construction belts of old weren't functioning anymore, and the quiet air drifted through all the rooms and hallways. Though as peaceful and empty as the factory seemed, there was still a slight uneasiness that he could feel in his very bones. Everyone was talking softly as they walked, not wanting to disturb the quiet. They all seemed calm on the outside, but after their numerous adventures together, the red haired male could tell that they were just as uneasy with the quagmire as he was. Though he was happily engaging in conversation, Tai never once maintained eye contact with anyone else, always scanning through wherever they happened to be walking through at the time.

"You know what the worst part about all of this is?" He heard Mimi sigh, breaking him from his observations of the older brunet.

"What's that?" Palmon piped up, looking up at Mimi from under her flower petal hair with a smile.

"Those Parasimon looked so _icky_." She shook her head. She wasn't excited in the least to come face-to-face with one – or _any_ – of the parasitic digimon, duty or not. Matt turned from his position in front of her and raised an eyebrow at her.

"Oh, and here I was thinking the worst part was that the Digital World was most likely under attack by yet _another_ evil threat." He waved his hand dismissively at his own comment and turned back to the front, avoiding the glare given to him by the younger girl, Biyomon muffling her giggles with her wing.

"How naïve of you, Matt." Mimi taunted.

Gabumon tugged at the corner of Matt's black shirt, the blond looking down at him with an expression to tell him what was on his mind.

"Come on, Matt, the Digiworld is _always_ in some kind of trouble. It's a prerequisite of its existing or something." The reptilian-like digimon laughed to himself, scratching his fur coat that he wore as he put his hands behind his horn.

"Amen to that." Tentomon raised a claw to the comment.

"At least we get to see each other again!" Biyomon beamed up at Sora, the girl looked down at her digimon partner and close friend and returned the expression. Even though they were essentially looking for a battle they didn't exactly know to what extent the danger could get to, it still made her boundlessly happy to see Biyomon again. Mimi too, for that matter. It felt like they'd been apart for a lot longer than they actually had been and in the short few hours they'd been together it was like they'd never been apart.

"That's right." She ruffled the feathers on Biyomon's head as they rounded a corner into another hallway of the massive factory.

The group stopped their progress when Tai, who was walking at the front of the group with Agumon by his side, halted. With his hand on his chin in thought, he turned to face everyone and scratched his arm, seeming to be in debate about something. Agumon noticed and decided to voice his concerns.

"What's the matter, Tai?" The diminutive yellow dinosaur asked, one claw brought up to his mouth in curiosity.

"Well honestly I was just thinking about how big this factory actually is now that we've had time to explore it. Last time it was cut short when Andromon attacked us, thinking we were intruders." Izzy nodded his head, forming the easiest and most sensible plan in their situation.

"Perhaps we'd cover more ground if we split up? We could go in two teams and find out where the Parasimon are hold out." He suggested. When they were younger they'd tried to avoid getting separated as much as possible, but they were much stronger now than they were back then, and it's not as if they were on the supermassive continent of Server.

Mimi pumped a fist in the air and then latched on to Sora's arm. "I call dibs on Sora!"

"Then we'll go further in to the factory." Matt replied, gesturing to Tai and Izzy beside him.

"We should take the perimeter outside to see if we can find any of them entering or exiting." Sora said, turning towards the happy brunette holding her arm. "First one to find the Parasimon has to find and contact the others before doing anything." She added, Izzy nodding his agreement.

"Sora has a point. Gennai did say that they were weak, but he also said they were strong in a group _and_ they're at the mega level."

As the guys made their way down the hallway to delve further in to the factory depths, the girls turned to head back the way they came. At an afterthought, Palmon turned around to the receding figures of the boys.

"Last one to find the Parasimon is a rotten digiegg!"

"No fair! I'm always the egg!" She heard Agumon whine.

* * *

It had taken them a while to find the exit to the factory – due to Mimi and Palmon _insisting_ that they remembered the way and took a wrong turn – but after half an hour the small group of four had eventually made it outside.

While walking along the chain link fence-line surrounding the factory, all the while keeping a keen eye out for Parasimon, the girls had eventually began to engage in light conversation after having gotten their excitement about seeing each other out of their systems.

"So Mimi," Sora began after a silence had passed between them. Mimi was humming softly to herself and looked sidelong at Sora, waiting for her to continue. "You went to Tai's soccer game, huh?" She asked, having faintly heard the conversation between the males earlier.

"Sure did," Mimi replied absentmindedly as her gazed shifted back to the factory grounds. "I got Izzy's message about it not long after my plane landed and decided I'd go. I was hoping to see you or some of the others there, but Izzy told me it'd just be Tai. I didn't have anything else to do so I figured it'd still be worth it."

Sora nodded slowly. Her stomach twisted a little with guilt. She had spent so much time in her room debating on whether she'd go to Tai's soccer game and be really late for Matt's concert, or whether she'd just go to Matt's concert and apologise to Tai. After deliberating and tearing herself apart over it for what seemed like an eternity, she'd come to the conclusion that she wouldn't go to either of their events, but within the next minute began to freak out and try on clothes and make an elaborate plan. After stressing for so long about what to wear to impress both of her friends, Tai's game had already started and she'd only _just_ have made it to Matt's concert if she'd left when she did.

"So how long are you staying in Japan for this time?" Sora asked her, wanting to change the topic to distract her from unwanted thoughts. Mimi however, was having none of it.

"Come now, Sora." Mimi giggled, waggling her finger much like she had done so to Tai in the elevator of their apartment building previously.

"Wha-?"

"You paused for way too long there! I may have moved to America, but I still know when my friend is worried about something." Mimi smirked at her and Sora tried to stutter out a defence.

"She's right, Sora! You had that look on your face that you get when you're fretting over something." Biyomon added her two cents and Sora silently wished she hadn't. She sighed but inwardly was relieved to know her friends still knew her so well even after being apart from them for so long.

"It's just…" She began, pausing to find the right words, "I guess I just feel bad for not being able to make Tai's soccer match is all." A wry smile appeared on Mimi's face and she stopped walking and gripped Sora's hand, forcing her to stop too. Biyomon and Palmon walked a few more meters before realising their friends stopped.

"Sora, you can't let teeny little things like that stick on your conscience. If you couldn't make it, then you couldn't make it. Tai's a big boy; he'll get over it." Mimi laughed, leaning up against the fence and resting her head back against it.

Sora thought about her words for a moment. Mimi was right, she really shouldn't be fretting too much over it. She'd think and over think and eventually it'd consume her thoughts. But then again… She _had_ the time to begin with but because she dawdled she'd lost precious time to get ready and make plans to fit both her friends in to her schedule. She mentally sighed, hating the doom-and-gloom attitude that had taken her mind over.

"Sora, you're still doing it!" Mimi chastised her. "Jeez, girl. You should just tell Tai you like him already, then you two can make up, make out, and get past it!"

To say Sora was shocked would've been an understatement. Palmon tripped over her own roots and Biyomon moved quickly to help her out. "Wow, Mimi, its crest of _sincerity_ not crest of _bluntness_." Palmon teased.

Sora was fighting back hundreds of shades of crimson from her cheeks. Where was Mimi even coming from?

"I-I don't like Tai! Well I mean, I _like_ Tai, but I don't _like-like_ him! U-ugh-…" Sora tried vainly to defend herself, but the brunette just eyed her with a devilish look in her eyes as she twirled her bangs around her finger in mock absentmindedness.

"If you didn't like him then why would you be worrying so much?" Her grin grew wider and she looked up to the sky, avoiding Sora's baffled gaze.

"Mimi!" She shrieked. "N-no, I just feel bad, that's it!"

"Mnn, whatever you say," Mimi sang in a sing-song voice.

Whatever protest could possibly have come from Sora, or whatever further jokes could possibly have come from Mimi was interrupted when an explosion blasted out a nearby wall, sending debris everywhere and smoke billowing out and obscuring everyone's view. All of them jumped in surprise, the two digimon dropped in to a defensive stance and the girl's whipped out their new Digivices as some silhouette's came into view from the smoke.

* * *

"I wonder what it is they're constructing." Izzy whispered tersely to his companions.

After they had parted ways from the girls, Gabumon had picked up an unusual scent while their small group travelled from room to room. They had passed mostly empty rooms along their ventures through the halls, some having outdated computer equipment and even a few storerooms. Eventually their pursuit of Gabumon's nose was aided by Agumon, who also managed to pick up on the strange scent. Izzy had asked Tentomon why he couldn't smell anything he simply shrugged, or as best as a mechanical ladybug-like Digimon could shrug.

After walking down a flight of stairs, they had rounded a corner and then had to quickly dive back behind the wall as the unsightly view of a room filled with armoured purple spider-like digimon. Parasimon. They'd been hiding beside the wall for quite some now, watching. Eventually they realised the group of ten or so mega digimon were constructing something with items scavenged from around the factory.

"It seems to be some sort of gate." Izzy mumbled, though loud enough for the others to hear.

It was a circular structure with the centre being empty. Izzy had watched plenty of sci-fi shows in his lifetime to know that this was some kind of gate. The questions in his mind loomed over him though. What would they be using the gate for exactly? Why were they building it? He thought that Gennai's comment about the possibility of them working under some form of higher power were more plausible now.

He didn't have much more time to think about it however, when one of the parasitic digimon turned and spotted the six heads poking around the corner. The three boys and their Digimon squawked, pulling their heads back behind the corner, hearts thumping in their chests.

"Maybe they didn't notice us…" Matt whispered.

"Kill the intruders!"

Gabumon sighed.

"Oh dear." Agumon added as he shook his head.

They heard the rush of many armoured legs pounding towards the hallway and Matt decided he'd intervene. Well, more accurately, Matt decided Gabumon would intervene. Though Gabumon had no objections to protecting his friends if they were in danger.

"Not today, bug brain!" Matt and Gabumon jumped out to the side to see the Parasimon rushing towards the entryway and raised up his Digivice, a soft glow emanating from the screen and from under his black shirt as his crest reacted in sync with his wishes. Gabumon's entire body was enveloped in the white light of digivolution.

" _Gabumon, Warp Digivolve to…!"_

The small reptilian digimon's body morphed and changed into that of quadruped wolf covered in dark and light blue striped fur. The fur sticking out on his shoulder was as sharp as a blade and his snout sported sharp teeth.

" _Garurumon!"_

He still wasn't done in his evolution however, and reared up on his hind legs. Tattered jeans appeared on his legs, two kneepads also appeared and one of them had spikes protruding out. He threw his arms forward and the one on the right gained leather wrappings around his hand, two metal bands on his forearm and one on his bicep. His left arm was encased in a sleeve with more leather wrapping around his hand accompanied by golden spiked brass knuckles. The shoulder pad over his left shoulder was connected to the belt on his jeans by more leather wrappings and buckles. After two great roundhouse kicks he crossed his arms over his chest and when he swung them out, he let out a piercing roar that stopped the Parasimon in their advance for the moment.

" _WereGarurumon!"_

The bipedal wolfman digimon rushed forward with his amazing speed to engage to Parasimon in fight, as Agumon and Tai faced each other, the same look of sheer determination crossing their faces.

"My turn?" The orange dinosaur asked.

"Sure thing, buddy."

But as Tai's Digivice and crest began to glow, he was distracted by a hand placed on his shoulder.

"Tai, wait!" Izzy tightened his grip on the taller teens' shoulder and Tai turned to face him, a frustrated look plastered on his face.

"What's the hold up? If Agumon and Tentomon don't digivolve then WereGarurumon's gonna get creamed out there on his own." Replied Tai.

Matt heard the commotion and turned to face the two as WereGarurumon engaged the Parasimon that reached him. It attempted to swat him away with one leg but the werewolf proved to be too nimble and agile for the mega. He dodged another few swipes from the bug, still taking the time to gauge his enemy. A few of the other Parasimon arrived on the scene, but thankfully for WereGarurumon, they seemed to be waiting on the side for now, whether in interest or just biding their time to overwhelm him, the ultimate wasn't sure.

"If you're gonna decide to help any time soon, that'd be nice!" Matt called back to them.

"Tai, if Agumon or I digivolve to even our champion forms them we'll bring the entire roof down on us. We're simply too big!" Tentomon reasoned.

Tai clenched his fist when he looked up at the roof. He knew instantly that Tentomon was right and cursed himself for not taking that in to account. Agumon sure did get big when he digivolved and it wouldn't do them any good if they crushed themselves under the supports of the factory. He grit his teeth his teeth and looked back to Matt with a frown.

"Then we'll just have to take this outside!" Matt nodded to the brunet and turned his attention back to WereGarurumon, who was now in the midst of launching one of his _Full Moon Kick_ attacks at a Parasimon who decided to interject on previous one-on-one altercation. "WereGarurumon!"

The wolf stole a glance back to Matt and saw the blond jerking his thumb over his shoulder back the way they'd come. Understanding what he meant in the simple gesture, WereGarurumon gave him a thumbs up.

"Gotcha! _Wolf Claw!_ "

WereGarurumon flexed his claws and focused all the energy in his body to them. He leapt towards the closest Parasimon and slashed at its large red eye, when the claws made contact with the squishy orb, it left a searing trail of red energy behind for a few moments. The parasite screamed in abject horror at the burning pain that coursed through its body at that, and the ultimate took this as his chance to run after the retreating DigiDestined, it'd be up to him to distract the Parasimon long enough for them to get away.

He made his way towards the hall where his friends had been standing when he noticed a Parasimon crawling across the roof ahead of him, heading right towards the group. The werewolf grit his sharp teeth, dropping to all fours to bound down the hall faster, no matter what he wouldn't let Parasimon get close.

Meanwhile, Matt, Tai, Izzy, Agumon, and Tentomon had run into a _slight_ problem. In the adrenaline fuelled dash they hadn't been paying attention to where they were running. Instead, acting on pure instinct they had just turned down whatever direction felt right at the moment. The seemingly dull, repetitive rooms of the factory finally stripped the boys of their luck when after what seemed like an eternity of running with the sounds of WereGarurumon holding of their pursuers, they ran in to a bland room with no other exit.

"Dead end! We've got to turn around!" Tentomon hollered as the group turned to run back out the door.

They didn't make it even two steps when the abdomen end of a Parasimon blocked their exit, the broad red lips twisted in a wicked grin. A few of its legs gripped the doorway as it pulled itself into the room. Before it could close in on its targets however, WereGarurumon slid underneath it and into the room. Coming up from his slide into a crouch, he pushed off the ground and into the air, shifting his body to deliver a swift flying kick to the parasite, knocking it back into the hallway. This was no cause for celebration though as another one took its place, attempting to force its way through the door. WereGarurumon rushed it, locking his claws with its feet and attempting to force it back as more of them crowded in the hallway, pushing their comrade and forcing the bipedal wolf back.

"I don't mean to alarm you," WereGarurumon grunted, trying to dig his feet into the smooth metallic floor in a failed attempt to get a solid grip, "but I won't be able to hold them off much longer!" He grunted in exertion, letting the Parasimon gain a little leeway before flexing his arms and using pure strength the take a step forward and push the invading force out a little further.

"Tai!" Agumon exclaimed to gain the brunet's attention.

"Right! One exit, coming up!" Tai retrieved his orange Digivice and held it firmly behind him, facing Agumon who moved as far to the back wall as possible.

"Tai, are you sure this is wise?" Izzy asked nervously. He wanted to get out of this sticky situation too, but wasn't sure a giant evolution of Agumon was exactly the best idea.

"No, but WereGarurumon doesn't have the time for us to sit on our asses and think of something. Agumon, you're up, buddy!"

"Let's get to it then! _Agumon, Warp Digivolve to…!_ "

As Tai's Digivice and crest glowed with the light of digivolution, Agumon's body shone and began to change into very familiar shapes. His body grew in size, and soon the small orange dinosaur was replaced by a larger version of himself with blue stripes spattered across his helmet and a brown helmet made of bone covering the top of his head, three horns protruding from it.

" _Greymon!"_

Greymon reared back his head and when he thrust it forwards, the bone helmet hardened and turned to solid steel, orange hair growing out from the back of it. He flexed his left arm and much like his helmet had, it morphed and became mechanical. His entire body grew larger and more muscular in definition, and as it did so, a metal breastplate covered the upper part of his chest.

" _MetalGreymon!"_

The large cyborg-dragon digimon proved Izzy and Tentomon's previous concerns about being too large as his head bust through the ceiling of the room, causing the metal to bend and some support to cave down around them.

The breastplate on his chest opened up to reveal two missile ports and the teens alongside Tentomon took cover under his massive tail. With a roar that was deafening in the small room, MetalGreymon unleased his signature attack directly at the wall to blast it open.

" _Giga Blaster!"_

As the twin missiles rocketed from the cyborg-dinosaur's body and impacted the steel wall, it was blown open with a resounding _bang_ , temporarily deafening those gathered around and kicking up smoke. More of the ceiling that was being supported by the wall crumbled in the devastation and headed straight towards the unsuspecting head of Matt. WereGarurumon with his keen eyes was able to see it and leapt with all his might, destroying the debris with a swift and powerful kick.

"Come on!" Izzy called out.

The group rushed out of the smoking mess of the wall and into the daylight. At first it was severely bright but their eyes couldn't adjust as the smoke still stung them, but they moved on anyway, the stomps of MetalGreymon's feet accompanying them as they attempted to put some distance between them and the stunned Parasimon.

"Wow, guys! Way to make an exit!" Palmon's voice exclaimed as they managed to exit the smoke.

"Whatever happened to 'don't engage the enemy'?" Sora asked as she saw some Parasimon crawl out of the giant hole in the wall.

Some of the parasitic digimon crawled out and surveyed the surroundings from the debris, others spread themselves across the walls. And for the time being they just sat there. Waiting. Watching. Patiently observing to see what the intruders to their domain would do next. Now that they weren't directly inside the factory they didn't seem to be too concerned about the enemy, but they obviously had no intention of backing off.

"Yeah, well it kind of couldn't be helped." Matt grunted, turning his head to look at the group of megas.

"Sora, I think maybe we should digivolve too." Biyomon looked up at her best friend, getting a nod in response.

" _Biyomon, Warp Digivolve to…!"_

Sora's Digivice and crest reacted with each other and Biyomon was shrouded in the white glow of evolution. The small pink bird grew in size, her clawed feet extending out and becoming more talon-like. Her feathers changed from pink to a burning orange and seemed to waver as if they were on fire and her beak became more animalistic.

" _Birdramon!"_

From this, the white light that once covered Birdramon's body, her entire form was encased in fire as her body went through more drastic changes. As her limbs extended out of the fire, their appearance changed instantaneously. Her arms and upper body was covered in pink feathers, a red bandanna on her left bicep. Deep crimson feathers covered her waist, thighs, and wings which were tipped yellow. Her yellow taloned hands and feet had orange stripes and a tribal style mask donned the top of her head, long blonde hair flowing out the back of it.

" _Garudamon!"_

"I'm not gonna sit this one out, Izzy!" Tentomon cried.

"Right." The redhead replied.

" _Tentomon, Warp Digivolve to…!"_

The small ladybug-like digimon flew up in to the air before the light of evolution enveloped his being. He lost the carapace that normally covered his wings and the four fragile wings grew larger and stronger. His six limb extended in length and became clawed, a sharp barb protruding out of his abdomen. His entire skull, save for his jaw which was separated in to three parts, became encased in a dark horned helm.

" _Kabuterimon!"_

As Kabuterimon flexed his four arms outwards, red armour covered the length of them, his blue clawed hands becoming sharper and more resilient. As more of the same red armour appeared over the rest of his body, more armour that resembled his skeletal structure encased his torso. His normal horn extended out, becoming longer and pronged as a blue orb appeared over his back, a sturdy red carapace covering his wings once again.

" _MegaKabuterimon!"_

"Of course, we gotta save the best for last, right Palmon?" Mimi asked her small vegetative digimon partner, getting a giggle and a nod in response.

" _Palmon, Warp Digivolve to…!"_

When the white light of evolution encompassed Palmon, her body grew and expanded to resemble that of a giant cactus. Needles poked out of her skin and red boxing gloves covered her giant hands, a small tuft of orange hair appearing on her head.

" _Togemon!"_

The tuft of orange hair on her head swirled and formed a beautiful flower, and as energy gathered around it, it bloomed and a smaller fairy-like digimon with a pink plant style dress appeared. Long green vines extended out from underneath her headdress to resemble hair.

" _Lillymon!"_

The now group of five ultimate level digimon stood ready to face off against the ten Parasimon, who seemed to be regarding them coolly, completely undeterred that their opponents had gained an incredible level of firepower.

"Why are they just staring at us?" WereGarurumon grumbled. He flexed his fingers as the anxiousness for them to make their move festered in his very core.

"Maybe they've decided they'd rather fight us in a staring competition instead?" Although he joked in an attempt to lighten the situation, MegaKabuterimon didn't think it did much good. With a shake of her head, Garudamon displayed her disagreement.

"Tai, you and the others need to get out of here!"

As MetalGreymon spoke, the group released one collective gasp of horror as from hundreds of points along the walls and roof of the factory the very air seemed to shimmer and distort as more and more of the parasitic digimon appeared. The once monotonously coloured factory was now covered by what seemed like an impossible number of the mega level digimon. Sora's knees shook slightly at the sheer amount of them and she looked across at her friends, each one of them just as shocked and nervous as her.

None of them had ever seen this many digimon in their life.

"W-well, you don't have to tell me twice. C'mon!" Tai turned and grabbed Sora and Izzy who had been standing on either side of him, and the action jolted Matt and Mimi in to action.

The five teens rushed towards the chain link fence with the intent to climb over and get to some degree of safety. As they neared the fence, one of the Parasimon leapt at them with the intent of preventing them to escape. He was almost upon them, entering their no dodge zone.

" _Flower Cannon!"_

With the call from Lillymon, she clasped her hands together and her gloves morphed into an orange flower. When it blossomed, the cannon within gathered up energy and she released a 'U' shaped blast of energy from it.

The blast collided with Parasimon right before it got to the retreating teens, deleting it, and the force of it impacting the enemy digimon whipped up a wind and ruffled the teens' clothes around. Mimi squealed and held her dress tightly at her knees. In the next moment after it died down she quickly shot her partner a scowl.

"Lillymon! I'm wearing a dress! Could you be a little more careful please?"

"Sorry, Hon!" Lillymon called back. The fairy concealed a giggle behind her hand.

Suddenly, in the next moment, chaos ensued. The Parasimon had been all well and fine up until two things happened. The first mistake was that a small group of the intruders had tried to escape. The second mistake was that another one felt they had the right to kill one of their brethren.

"KILL THE INTRUDERS!"

With little time to react, the five ultimates were caught off guard as the horde of parasites converged on them. Garudamon and MegaKabuterimon took off in to the sky while Lillymon flittered around close to the ground. MetalGreymon stayed grounded however, knowing full well that if someone didn't stay back on the ground, it was possible the WereGarurumon would get overwhelmed.

"Come on, we need to get away so the digimon don't have to worry about us." Tai grunted as he pulled himself up on to the fence. Matt joined his side a second later and the two boys sat atop it with one leg clinging on each side.

Using their legs to keep them balanced, they leaned over and helped the shorter Izzy climb up and over. After Izzy cleared the fence, he made a beeline up the incline that led to the nearby hill overlooking the factory. Sora was the next to follow and soon after the two boys had helped Mimi over, though she made them look away as she jumped down in the event that her dress got caught on the fence. Thankfully for her, it didn't.

With one last nervous glance back at their fighting digimon, Matt and Tai nodded to each other before joining their friends on the hill. All they could do now was have complete faith in their partners to combat the devastating odds. Tai couldn't help but have a seed of doubt fester in his mind.

Meanwhile, even though she had taken to the skies to gain the advantage over the grounded parasitic digimon, Garudamon was still having trouble dealing with the smaller digimon. If she were still Biyomon, the Parasimon would tower over her, but now that she was Garudamon they were nothing more than a car in terms of size compared to her, MetalGreymon, and MegaKabuterimon.

She and MegaKabuterimon split up and flew over to separate parts of the factory in hopes to draw the large horde away and make them easier to deal with. They were converged on the ground, staring up at her with murderous intent in their singular eyes and she smirked. Well, smirked as best as one with a beak could. Having her enemies all bunched up in one place made them a lot easier for her to deal with.

She drew her arms and legs in close to her body, flapping her enormous wings to keep her afloat as flames danced around her body. Next, with a roar of power she sent the fire blazing towards a group of her foes, it taking the shape of a phoenix as it went.

" _Wing Blade!"_

The fiery attack crashed into the digimon below and though some were deleted upon impact, most only suffered mere burns to their armour. Her attack held a lot of power, but as it turned out, the parasites were a lot more resilient than she had initially anticipated.

With a click of her tongue, Garudamon decided that she'd have to take another approach and get more physical with her opponents, knowing now that if they were strong enough to mostly resist the power of her wing blade she'd have to resort to something more physically damaging.

The moment she lowered herself to the roof of one of the many building that made up the factory, the Parasimon wasted no time in swarming her, trying to get close enough to do some damage. However, this was exactly what the giant tribal eagle was hoping for.

" _Phoenix Claw!"_

Gathering fire around her sharp talon-like hands, she punch towards some of the incoming digimon, her huge hand hitting four of them at once, deleting them on impact.

"Now this is more like it." She smirked to herself, preparing the fire around her talons again in preparation for another attack as even more of her enemies closed in on her.

She dispatched another two small groupings of them, but didn't notice some of them sailing through the air towards her from her blindside. They were getting closer and closer to her, knowing that if they were able to get on to her body, they would be able to distract her long enough for more of their comrades to swarm her. However, they wouldn't be as lucky as the cry of an attack deleted them.

" _Horn Buster!"_

After having come to the same conclusion as Garudamon to lead some of their enemies away, MegaKabuterimon had flown over to assist her. Unlike Garudamon however, his blasts of electricity he released from his horn proved more than enough to delete a Parasimon on contact, as evident with dispatching the group of them that had tried to blindside her.

Having heard the attack and put one-and-one together, Garudamon looked to him with a knowing nod, verbal thanks not passing between them as the added number of the Parasimon that had followed the other ultimate demanded their utmost attention.

Back on the hill, the DigiDestined were surveying the raging battle with a mixture of worry, intrigue, and in Tai and Matt's case; frustration. Izzy not having paid any attention to them and instead calculating statistics of their chances on winning, accidentally chose to voice the one concern of the two young men.

He had been running the calculations on his computer for some time now since they had settled in their vantage point and had attained a permanent frown on his face, not liking his own calculations on bit.

"Hey, guys," he looked over to the two with curiosity, glancing back to his laptop again to quickly run it through his head one more time as the two DigiDestined in question looked at him. "I'm curious as to why you didn't evolve Agumon and Gabumon to WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon. I've been running the possible outcomes of the battle from my laptop and even with the potential of two megas on our side it doesn't look good."

Tai scowled as he looked back to the battle, seeing the evidence of Izzy's predictions slowly coming apparent as their digimon were constantly being blindsided by Parasimon that were lying in wait, patiently awaiting for their chance to strike. As Lillymon took out a Parasimon that had latched itself on to MetalGreymon's tail, he clenched his fingers around his D-Ark in frustration.

"Don't you think we tried that?" Even though Tai had snapped at him, Izzy took no offence to it. He knew that it was due to the battle being slowly turned against them, and he'd be lying to himself if he didn't admit he was trying to battle his own growing frustrations.

"Yeah," concurred Matt with a nod, "back in the factory I was expecting MetalGarurumon but WereGarurumon was the one to appear. It's like something is holding them back from digivolving past the ultimate level."

"Curious…"

"Didn't Gennai say that these 'D-Ark's' were more powerful than our older models?" Sora didn't turn to face the others as she spoke, instead nervously fingered the edges of her red hoodie, fearing for the safety of Garudamon as she was saved from being overwhelmed once again by MegaKabuterimon, who seemed to be faltering himself.

Izzy groaned in frustration, pulling his own Digivice out of his pocket to gaze at it, recalling what it was that Gennai had said exactly a few hours prior.

" _We call these ones 'D-Arks', and as their namesake implies they are more powerful and can transfer more energy in to data to provide to your digimon during battle. We aren't even sure of the full extent of their power yet, but from our observations they can supply a more direct link with your partners, and even have their own built-in Digimon Analyser._ _"_

Izzy's eyes widened, thinking of the only conclusion he could in such a short time. He turned quickly to face Tai and Matt, his sudden movement capturing their attention, though they nervously glanced back at their partners.

"Gennai said that they are more powerful, yes."

"So, we already knew that and I don't see how it helps us right now?" Matt seethed, knowing that Izzy had an accidental flare for making his explanations dramatic by pausing unnecessarily or forcing them to figure it out for themselves.

"Well," he picked back up, "he also said that they transfer _more_ energy in to data to provide for the digimon." Izzy smiled. His expression dropped into another manner of frustration when Tai piped up, noticing straight away the flaw in his explanation.

"Yeah, okay genius, but explain to me how were supposed to transfer them more energy exactly."

Izzy pulled his hand to his chin and closed his eyes as he thought. Trying to drown out a howl from WereGarurumon as he unleashed one of his _Circle Moon Kick_ attacks, only to have it interrupted by a cable extending out from under a Parasimon's armour, ensnaring him until MetalGreymon's _Giga Claw_ attack sent his metal hand blasting through it to sever the connection, freeing the werewolf.

"We have to look at how it happened last time." Izzy muttered.

"Last time Angemon and Angewomon shot us with arrows of hope and light," said Tai.

"Yeah, then every time after that was a synch." Matt added, mirroring Izzy's previous pose of thought as he tried to think of any kind of fact they could add to that.

"So all we would need is another catalyst like that."

"Newsflash boys," Mimi piped up, having stayed silent most of the time while she concentrated on Lillymon flittering around the Parasimon, "Angemon and Angewomon aren't here and unless one of our Digimon could turn into an angel and shoot Tai and Matt, then we can't do anything except sit and watch our friends get creamed out there!"

Mimi pointed towards the battle and her words grew louder and more worried as back at the battle, MegaKabuterimon had tried to get himself airborne, only more an amassed amount of cable to stretch out from many of the Parasimon to grab on to his four arms and two legs, grounding him. His horn cackled with electricity as he prepared himself to loose off another of his attacks, when more cables wrapped themselves around the base of his horn, yanking it to face Garudamon.

Unfortunately for her, it was too late for the giant beetle to cancel his attack and it nailed Garudamon square in her side making her stumble as the velocity of one of her own punches caused her to stumble for a moment. The Parasimon leapt at the chance ravenously and wrapped her down, overdoing it as to make sure that she wouldn't be getting back up, but also staying far enough away so that if she decide to risk using her _Wing Blade_ attack they wouldn't get burned due to close proximity.

MetalGreymon wasn't fairing too well either. It hadn't taken large massed amounts of the parasites to overwhelm WereGarurumon and Lillymon. Lillymon's wrists were locked away from the other cables that held her body, making sure that she couldn't gain access to her most powerful attack that many of them had succumb to.

Now left to fight on his own, the horde of bugs that weren't occupied converged on him all at once, and he desperately fought to keep them at bay so that he could open up a window of opportunity to save at least one of his friends.

" _Giga Missile!"_

The metal compartment on his chest opened up and two biological missiles fired out and homed in on some of the advancing spiders. One of the missiles nailed a group of them, deleting them, but due to him also having to avoid an attack, the other spun wildly out, and served only to blow a useless hole in the wall of the factory.

Sadly, that was a big mistake.

With his most powerful attack now rendered useless until it reloaded, and his _Giga Claw_ attack not very useful against dispatching large numbers of enemies, the giant half metal dinosaur was swarmed and he too was soon held at bay, ineffectual and to succumb to the mercy of the parasite horde.

The helpless DigiDestined made to voice their concern and support for their partners. They'd come across insurmountable odds before in the form of Devimon, Etemon, Myotismon, VenmonMyotismon, the Dark Masters, Diaboromon, and even Apocalymon, yet here they were. Unable to digivolve to the mega level and all captured. Sure the Parasimon had sheer overwhelming numbers on their side, but they weren't supposed to be so strong or cohesive. Working as a distraction so others could incapacitate just shouldn't have been something they were able to perform, at least, that had been Izzy's analysations. Now it seemed that whatever they had been constructing seemed to have kicked them in to gear as the ultimate became a threat they needed to subdue. Literally.

Before any of them could voice those concerns and pleas, however, an explosion boomed from the centre of the facility and from it a giant crimson and purple vortex with a black centre expanded out. Tai and the others looked on in shock as the Parasimon holding their digimon simply let go and rushed towards it, like moths to an open flame.

"What are they-…?" Tai began, but he never got to finish as the vortex seemed to pulse once, then expand faster than a speeding bullet.

Their worlds went black as it consumed them all. Even the DigiDestined from their 'safe' vantage point on the hill didn't even have time to react as it took them all in to its embrace.


	6. Loco Locomotive

_**Tales of the Tamers: Act 01  
Chapter 05: Loco Locomotive**_

* * *

 _ **Roppongi Train Station**_

It was a quiet day in Roppongi for the most part. People went about their days as the hustle of Tokyo dragged on like it usually did. All in all it was just another normal day. No abhorrent crime sprees, no large traffic jams (which was surprising for a city such as Tokyo), not even a child throwing a tantrum or a baby crying.

"What the Hell do you mean you can't wait to give me my present?!"

Well, except for one disturbance in the _mostly_ peaceful air. At the train station in Roppongi, a certain red head was on the phone to one of her friends who had unfortunately disobeyed her one specific order for today, her birthday.

" **W-well, you see… I know you said** _ **not**_ **to get you anything… B-but I thought that… You know…"**

Came the shaky reply from the other end of her phone. It was obvious that this person had been an object of Rika's anger before due to the fact they weren't utterly silenced by her outburst, but it didn't mean that it was any less intimidating as evidently displayed by his stuttering and lack of coherency in his reply.

"No, I don't know, Takato. What I _do_ know is that I told you _not_ to get me anything. Yet here we are and I'm berating you for having got me something." Now turned sixteen Rika Nonaka pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed.

She let her hand holding her cell drop to her side for a moment, knowing that Takato on the other end wouldn't have collected himself enough to reply just yet. She gripped her phone a little tighter as she roped in her temper, of course she should've expected this. She knew what Takato was like, he was like Jeri when it came to a friend's birthday, no matter if you told him not to he'd still go out and get you a present that he thought would suit you best, though admittedly Jeri was a little more selective in her presents and always insisted on throwing great parties that everyone would enjoy. It wouldn't be too far of a stretch to assume Henry had defied her too and gotten her a present.

"Listen Takato," she said as she brought her cell back up to her ear, her tone a lot more gentle now. "I know you mean well, but please, I don't really want anything." She suggested.

She waited a moment for his reply but raised an eyebrow in confusion instead when she heard him arguing with something on the other end. A losing argument from what it sounded like.

" **Well you weren't supposed to find out, we were going to your house to drop the gifts off before the party so that it didn't look suspicious when we turned up later with them."** She heard Takato grunt most of his statement through the phone, she assumed Guilmon must be acting up over food or something he thought was edible that would turn out not to be.

Something else in what he'd said predominantly caught her attention though. He had said 'we', so that meant Henry definitely was part of the guilty party as well. She felt a hand lightly touch her shoulder and glanced behind at her mother who gave her a warm smile, her beautiful blonde hair framing her spotless face. Rika groaned when it suddenly made sense as to why she was out with her mother now.

"I knew there was something fishy when Mum asked me to go with her to Roppongi and _didn't_ mention clothes once." Again, she pinched the bridge of her nose as Takato's nervous laughter came through the line.

"So you're telling me you somehow managed to cook up this little scheme without myself or Renamon knowing?" She asked. Now she began tapping her foot impatiently on the concrete as an announcement from the station speakers that she ignored sounded out. She was focused now completely on the call and didn't react when Rumiko moved to sit down on some nearby seats.

" **Weeell…"** Once again Takato couldn't do much but nervously laugh and Rika could practically hear him scratching the back of his head as he struggled to form words.

Rika shot a look off into some shadows and narrowed her eyes. She knew the vulpine Digimon would be there watching, and she knew that Renamon had known the whole time. There was no way either Takato or Henry could've pulled something like that off without Renamon overhearing something. Looks like someone was going to get her ear chewed off yet again.

Hidden in the shadows, Renamon didn't flinch under Rika's gaze. As stubborn as she was, she knew the redhead would appreciate the boys for going to the effort that they did to organise a party for her after being invited to the original one by Rika. She had heard the two boys talking to Rumiko and Seiko in private the other day about helping with the party and Renamon had decided to keep quiet about it, even going as far as to distract Rika from leaving her room whilst they were there without her knowledge.

" **We know you said that not to get you anything but we couldn't just not get you something."** Takato tried reasoning.

Rika attempted to frown but instead her lips betrayed her and tugged into an almost imperceptible smile. She gave in and decided that this year she'd let them have their fun. But so help her, if they disobeyed the rule next time they wouldn't be so lucky.

Before she could voice this threat however, Renamon appeared by her side. Though it didn't startle her in the least it still prompted her to give her partner a confused glance and a raise of her eyebrow. Renamon closed her eyes and stood still, focusing on something as evident by a slight twitch of her ears and the minimal movement from her busy tail. Rika made to ask her what was wrong but Renamon's eyes snapped open and she looked down the tracks at an oncoming train, moving a lot faster than it should've been. Her fur stood on end as a sense she hadn't felt from anyone other than Terriermon or Guilmon in years made itself known again.

"Rika, that's a Digimon!"

Rika turned her head in confusion only to be surprised by a forceful gust of wind sent blowing through the station by an oncoming train. The train was odd with its blue colour and old looking carriages. But what was even odder was the trail of smoke it left behind as it powered through, it even seemed to have a pair of red glowing eyes.

' _Wait… Eyes?!'_

"Was that?" She whirled around to Renamon who nodded, confirming that it's the Digimon she's sensing.

' _Why would a Digimon just appear out of nowhere after so long without warning? Today of all days?'_ She clenched her phone in her hands as she watched the Digimon recede down the line and became aware of Takato's voice calling out to her. Realising she'd been quiet for a while she quickly raised it up to her ear again.

"Takato, there's a wild Digimon! Get to the nearest train station!" Before he could even reply she ended the call and took off at a sprint, instincts from long ago kicking into gear like the flick of a switch.

"Rika, wait!" Rumiko called out upon seeing her daughter rush off. She uselessly raised a hand towards her daughters' retreating form, not having paid attention to her daughters' call so as not to be rude and therefore having no knowledge as to why she ran off.

She looked towards Renamon with pleading eyes, hoping that the vulpine had some answers for her.

"That was no train that just barrelled through here. It was a Digimon." Renamon answered the unspoken question. Rumiko, now standing, took a step back in shock.

"But there hasn't been a Digimon appearance in years! Are you sure?" Rumiko questioned. The last thing she wanted was for her daughter and her friends to get caught up in the Digimon mess again. Having Renamon, Terriermon, and Guilmon around was pleasant as long as Terriermon wasn't making trouble, as she never had to worry about some monster injuring her daughter.

"Don't worry." Renamon said, catching Rumiko's attention. "I'll keep her safe." Then, with a brisk nod, Renamon disappeared from sight and Rumiko was left to her own at the station.

' _I'll just have to trust Renamon. She's protected her before and she can do it again. Awh, this is all so stressful, I need to go shopping.'_

* * *

 _ **Shinjuku Train Station**_

" **Takato, there's a wild Digimon! Get to the nearest train station!"**

Takato winced as he heard Rika's voice shout in to the payphone. However, the moment he went to ask her what she meant, the long continuous tone that signalled that the line was dead rung in his ears. With a defeated sigh he placed the phone back in its handle and sighed deeply, moving to lean against the wall next to it. He gazed down to Guilmon who was staring with drool dripping from his mouth across the station on another platform at a group of teens that looked only just younger than Takato himself all eating fast food.

"Takato, I'm hungry…" The red dinosaur whined. Takato sighed and smiled down at him.

"I know, boy, I did just have to wrestle you down to the ground so you didn't go and take their food and scare them."

"But they look really nice and they seem like they'd share!"

"Guilmon, you ate two hours ago when we went to get Rika's present." Takato laughed, placing his hand in his pocket to grip said object.

"But Takato, that was then and this is now." Guilmon tried reasoning but noticed that a look of contemplation came across his Tamers' face. "What's wrong?"

Takato looked down to Guilmon. "I'm not sure, but before Rika hung up she said there was a wild Digimon and that we had to get to the nearest train station." He looked up and down the tracks as if a Digimon would magically appear, but other than the approaching sounds of a train, there was nothing.

"It's a good thing we're already here to use the payphone seeing as though I left my phone at home, but why a station specifically? Is she gonna meet us here? She was at Roppongi station after all. But then again, if there was a wild one she wouldn't just wait to ge-…"

Takato's ramblings were cut short when Guilmon's eyes dilated and he released a guttural growl from the depths of his throat. His head snapped towards the oncoming train off in the distance and Takato too looked, knowing that Guilmon would always go in to this state when he sensed a Digimon. So far though, he couldn't see anything other than the train barrelling towards the station with its blue body, red eyes and…

"The train is the Digimon!" Takato realised as Guilmon ran forwards and leapt off the platform and on to the tracks below.

Without a second thought, Takato knew what he had to do to help his partner. He reached in to his other pocket that didn't hold Rika's present and was glad that he still carried around his cards for sentimental reasons. He drew out a specific card and unclipped his D-Arc from his belt, running the card through the scan slot resulted in it cackling with energy as the data was scanned and applied to Guilmon who was now being encased in a large sphere of red data. "Digi-Modify! Digivolution, activate!"

" **Guilmon, Digivolve to…"**

Guilmon's body glowed red, and the scales that once made up Guilmon began to peel away as it reverted to a simple wireframe that allowed his form to change. His body grew proportionally larger and more muscular. He still retained the crimson scales and white underbelly, but now also had black rings around his thighs and forearms. The Hazard mark disappeared from his stomach and was now on both his shoulders. Retractable blades sprung out from his wrists with horns jutting out of his skull and a short white mane of hair running down his neck.

" **Growlmon!"**

The newly formed Growlmon roared and braced himself for the train-like Digimon to charge right in to him. It had been many years since he'd Digivolved, but to him it felt completely natural to be Growlmon again. His large clawed feet dug into the tracks as the Digimon drew closer, until with a crash he collided with the hulking Growlmon.

The opposing Digimon and Growlmon struggled for control for a few seconds as Growlmon managed to halt his progress and even going as far as to push him back a metre. As soon as Growlmon went to move forwards to continue to push the locomotive back however, it took its chance and charged forwards, catching the large dinosaur off balance and pushing him further down the line.

Growlmon struggled to keep his hold and almost involuntarily let go of the Digimon but managed to catch his footing sturdily once more, halting the Digimon's movement again.

Takato jumped down on to the tracks and pulled out his D-Arc as a holographic screen projected out in front of him, displaying the Digimon they were dealing with. "Locomon; machine Digimon. Ultimate?! I hope Growlmon knows what he's doing." Not wanting to leave Growlmon to face off against him alone, Takato made a sprint for the Digimon, hoping to get on to one of the back carriages.

"What's with all the hurry?" Growlmon grunted as he tightened his grip on Locomon, attempting to push him back once more while being careful so as not to lose his footing.

"I wanna run… I wanna keep on runnin'!" Locomon replied, his voice strained.

As his furnace moved in to overdrive, Locomon sprayed out a thick black fog right in to Growlmon's face and began to put all his energy into speeding up. The fog stung at Growlmon's eyes and he kept his mouth shut, not wanting to be thrown off by coughing.

"This is one charged up choo-choo…" Takato grunted, pulling himself up onto the railing of the back carriage and hoisting himself over. "Now to see what I can do to help Growlmon." He reached in to his pocket and pulled out a power modify card, but as he prepared to swipe it through his D-Arc, he heard a roar. Panicking, he leaned over the rail and saw Growlmon being tossed over the side of the bridge the tracks were suspended on to the street below. Locomon began moving again, and none too slowly at that.

"Takato!" Growlmon cried out in concern as he saw Locomon take off again with his Tamer on board. "Locomon, you have to stop!"

"Growlmon! Let Henry know what's going on, tell him to find Rika! You can do it boy!" Takato called out as Locomon left Growlmon behind helplessly. __

* * *

 _ **Sobu Train Station**_

A train pulled in to Sobu station, and with a hiss its doors opened and a mass of people exited the train. Some happy as Sobu was their destination for this trip, others agitated due to the fact the entire train was being evacuated. However, one blue haired Tamer and his dog-bunny partner sitting atop his head were simply curious.

"Great, now we gotta walk home." Terriermon whined, lightly tugging on Henry's hair.

"You won't even be the one walking." Henry sighed, looking around at the throngs of people leaving the train and swamping the station around him. "Besides, something's not right here."

"Yeah, it's the middle of the day and the train decides to kick us off at Sobu of all places." Terriermon retorted, getting a glance from Henry in response.

"I'm more concerned with why they kicked everyone off in the first place." Henry crossed one arm across his chest and used it to support his elbow as he placed his hand on his chin and closed his eyes in contemplation, trying to come up with some sort of reason.

Luckily for him, he got his answer through a monotonous announcement over the speakers. Unbeknownst to him, he was also saved from more of Terriermon's complaining as he too had his interest held in the announcement. Though he was more concerned that he was about to find out who or what was to blame for him having to sit through one long boring walk that inevitably awaited him.

" **Attention. The green line city service has been temporarily suspended. We apologise for the inconvenience but thank you for riding city rail."**

"Well that didn't sound very sincere at all." Terriermon huffed.

Without paying heed to Terriermon's comment, Henry shook his head at the lack of information and made his way over towards the escalator. Terriermon jumped off his head and landed on the hand rail, riding it down beside Henry who still looked deep in thought.

"So, what's the plan, Hendwy?" Terriermon giggled, pronouncing his Tamers' name as his younger sister Suzie did when she was little.

"Don't start, Terriermon." Henry replied, stepping off the escalator and picking his partner up in his arms. "We need to find a way to get back to town."

"Momentai!" Terriermon smiled. "You digivolve me to Rapidmon and we split this place like a banana. Simple!"

"I'm not going to digivolve you just so we can travel somewhere." Henry shook his head and Terriermon made a small whining sound.

"Why not? It's so much faster and then we won't have to walk!"

"Because that's just lazy. Besides, like I said before, you won't even be the one walking. Anyways the party isn't until tonight and due to whatever is going on, Rika and Miss Nonaka should be stuck in Roppongi for a while longer."

"Awh, this is gonna be so boring…"

"Relax." Henry laughed as he set off on the walk ahead with Terriermon in his grasp.

* * *

 _ **Aboard Locomon**_

"Whoa…" Takato breathed as he opened the door of the back carriage.

Inside the carriage was a wood panelled floor. Windows lined both walls at regular intervals and on either side of the wide aisle sat booths with green padded chairs and thin tables. It was the kind of train one would never expect to see barrelling through Tokyo at breakneck speeds. It was the kind of train you wouldn't expect to see in Tokyo full-stop. It definitely was a far cry from the normal sardine packed buckets and bullet trains that usually made the rounds.

"This thing looks like an antique." He surmised, making his way down the aisle towards the next door.

He reached for the handle and twisted it downwards, sliding the door across to pass through to the next carriage. He yelped in surprise when he instantly looked down at the gaps between the metal platforms and saw the ground rushing by in a grey blur. One either side to prevent him from falling was nothing more than a green rope suspended between poles. And it did _not_ look like it would save him at all.

The locomotive Digimon jolted and Takato was almost thrown over the edge, proving his earlier worries. He threw himself at the door to the next carriage and flung it across, running through and collapsing in to one of the seats as the Digimon jolted once again. Takato could've sworn that Locomon was doing this on purpose.

Catching his breath, he moved over and opened the window. He leaned his head out in to the fierce winds and gazed ahead at the main body that was Locomon himself, the black fog still billowing out of the furnace's exhaust as thick as ever, signalling how much power he was accumulating and expending.

"I wonder what's making him act so loco." Takato wondered aloud, ignoring his own bad pun. _'Guess I better get up to the engine room.'_

With that, he took off at a run through the carriage, being careful not to stumble like his usual clumsy self as he passed the metal dividers between each carriage.

* * *

 _ **Sobu**_

Henry and Terriermon, actually just Henry as Terriermon was atop his head once more, were walking through the streets of Sobu. They'd passed out of the main district not too long ago and were now moving along in silence. Mostly because Henry had been in thought the entire time, leading to him unintentionally ignoring Terriermon when he made an attempt at conversation.

There was just something about today that was bothering him, and it wasn't the earful he'd receive from Rika when she found out he and Takato got her a present each. No, it was something else, something that he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"Henry?" Actually hearing Terriermon's voice this time around, Henry replied to him.

"What's up?"

"Do you ever find it funny how little people ever just look up?"

"No, I can't say I do. Why?"

"Oh, nothing really. I just thought it'd be a fun conversation to have. You know, how often you're out walking but you never once just think to look up at the sky."

"Terriermon, you're being nonsensical."

"Henry would you just look up at the sky already!"

Surprised by Terriermon's outburst, Henry looked up to berate him but caught his tongue when he saw a vortex of black and purple energy building in the sky downtown. It was spinning at a slow rate and Henry couldn't help but shake the feeling that this familiar sight had everything to do with the city circle line being suspended.

"It's a digital zone!" Henry cried out, remembering the zone he, Takato, and Rika fought Gulfmon in years prior.

"What's it doing here?" Terriermon asked.

"I don't know, but it can't be good news."

"Henry! Terriermon!" A familiar voice cried out from behind them. Henry whirled around and saw the familiar form of Guilmon bounding towards them seemingly exhausted and almost out of breath as if he'd been running for quite a while.

"Guilmon's here?" Terriermon questioned. "And where's Takato?" He added.

"Takato… Train… Tried to stop… Too strong…" The rookie huffed as he tried to speak while taking in lungful's of air.

"Slow down, Guilmon. Wanna try that again?" Henry offered, confused and not understanding what Guilmon was trying to say. He nodded and took a few deep to steady his breathing before speaking again.

"A Digimon called Locomon is racing around the city." Guilmon finally said, surprising both Henry and Terriermon, the former taking a step back.

"A Digimon?!" Terriermon repeated.

"That explains the digital zone then." Henry nodded.

"I tried to stop Locomon back at Shinjuku with Takato but he was too strong and I was thrown off the tracks. Then he took off with Takato still on board!"

"Takato's on board Locomon? That's not good, what if he derails at this speed he must be going to create a digital zone?!" Henry clenched his fists. If Locomon were to hit a corner at his speed, he could cause massive amounts of damage to whatever he hit on top of seriously injuring or killing Takato inside. "We've got to help him, do you know where Rika is?"

Guilmon shook his head. "I found you and Terriermon first, but Takato was on the phone with Rika and she told us about Locomon before I sensed him."

"Hey, Guilmon," Terriermon began, "how'd you get here from Shinjuku so fast?" Before Guilmon could answer though, Henry picked Terriermon up off his head and sat him down on the guard rail that separated the footpath from the road. He pulled his green rimmed D-Arc out of a pocket in his vest and smiled as he drew a card out from another pocket.

"Terriermon, you ready?" He asked his partner as the card glinted in the sunlight and changed to blue.

"You sure do know the way to a Digimon's heart." Terriermon smirked.

* * *

 _ **Aboard Locomon**_

Back aboard the runaway Digimon, Takato had finally managed to get closer to the front carriage of Locomon himself, which he also assumed would be the engine room. Opening the door to the final carriage, he came up to a large silver carriage with no door, instead only small horizontal metal bars spaced up its length to act as a ladder, the same similar setup was on the side of each door between the carriages. He hoisted himself up over the edge with a grunt and winced as his hands made contact with jagged coals.

Ignoring it, he steadied himself as best he could with Locomon still jolting whilst racing down the train line. Spying a footbridge up ahead, and not wanting to get his head taken off, Takato sprinted as best as he could to the edge and dropped off. Looking up he saw what he thought was going to be the mechanical control centre for Locomon. In fact, it wasn't an engine at all, but instead a blazing furnace behind a closed metal grate.

"Well, guess I better figure out how to try and stop this thing." He surmised, glancing over all the levers, meters, and gauges.

He took a step forward but was soon crushed to the ground with a thud by a foreign object. After the weight was mysteriously removed, Takato heaved himself to his feet with a groan. He gazed around to see what had hit him, but instead spied who. A redhead with violet eyes wearing a white shirt with long blue sleeves, and jeans with belts wrapped around the left leg, Rika Nonaka, and behind her stood Renamon, one arm holding the girl steady as she had just helped her off of Takato.

"Well that's one way to make an entrance…" Takato muttered, rubbing his aching head. "How'd you get here anyway?" He asked. He had just combed through the entire train from back to front and didn't even see a hint of them.

"Trust me, you don't wanna know." Rika replied, brushing past him to peer over the same levers and gauges Takato had been looking at previously.

"Oh, well, now that you are, I have a card that might be useful and I was hoping it might slow him down…"

"Guilmon's not with you?" Renamon questioned, cocking an eyebrow as best she could.

"He kinda got thrown off the tracks back at Shinjuku." Takato laughed nervously.

Rika turned back from aimlessly pulling at levers and looked at the card Takato held in his hand. Noticing that it was an ability card she nodded a silent approval, glad that he didn't have useless cards on him seeing as though she had neglected to bring hers with her today.

"Not bad. Do you mind?" She asked. She was going to use it regardless, but figured she'd ask anyways.

"Sure, go ahead."

Rika nodded. She unclipped her blue rimmed D-Arc from her belt and slashed the card through, it cackling with energy as the data was read from the card and applied to Renamon. "Digi-Modify! Shellmon's Hydro Blaster, activate!"

Renamon felt the energy of another Digimon flow through her arms, and as if it had been her own move the entire time, she brought her hands together, clasping her finger like paws together as a blast of water shot towards the furnace. As good as an idea as it had been in theory however, it didn't work in practise as the water evaporated into steam as it came into contact with the grate on the furnace.

"It's too hot for that amount of water, but at least your pores are clean." Renamon noted dryly. Rika just went back to useless tugging on any lever that she could, again to no avail.

"At least that's something." Takato added.

"If only your conscience was as clean as your face." Rika said harshly. In her mind she reeled back her tone, but she didn't bother apologising. She had requested one thing from him and Henry today and they'd done the exact opposite so they deserved a little torment.

"Huh?" Takato wondered, confused as to what she was talking about. It quickly dawned on him and he frowned a little, putting his hand up to his pocket to touch the square object inside. "Oh, that… Well I kinda guessed that you wouldn't like it but I couldn't just not get you anything! Imagine if Jeri found out we went to your birthday and didn't get you anything?"

"Fine, whatever." Rika dismissed him, reaching over to try at a different set of buttons and gauges to see what she could do.

"I was gonna bring some birthday bread too, but Guilmon ate it while I was on the phone to you and then he tried to run over and ask some other people for their food which is why I was struggling earlier and-…"

"I said its fine, Takato! Now if you don't mind, we need to figure out how to stop this thing."

"Oh, uh, right. I saw a wrench in the carriage closest to the one behind us full of coal, maybe we can force the grate open?"

"Doesn't sound like a bad idea." Rika nodded to him and the two made their way back to the cabin behind, Renamon assisting them in getting over the steel carriage loaded with coal.

As they passed in to the carriage through the sliding door, Rika moved to pick up the wrench that Takato had mentioned, but stopped when she felt her cell vibrating in her pocket. She fished it out of her pocket and slid her finger in the direction across the screen to answer the call without looking at the number. Upon hearing the introduction on the other end she sighed and handed her phone over to Takato.

"It's for you." She muttered, holding the phone out. A confused Takato reached out and took it from her, putting it up to his hear all the while wondering who was calling on Rika's phone for him, and better yet, who knew they'd be in the same place.

" **Takato. It's Yamaki. Now, why does it come to me as no surprise when I hear that there's a Digimon speeding around Tokyo and that you kids are on board?"**

"Uh, guess it was just luck?" He offered.

" **Alright Takato, here's the plan. We've got people redirecting the tracks manually at Shinjuku station to divert the Digimon towards downtown. I'm sure you've noticed the Digital Zone in the sky?"**

"The what?"

" **Look outside towards downtown."**

Takato made his way over to one of the windows and gasped. Rika followed suit and she too was surprised by what she saw, high up in the sky was a swirling vortex of black and purple energy that was slowly stretching towards the ground like an unmoving tornado.

"Oh… Now I have."

" **We're going to redirect the Digimon to the downtown area. That will put him on a collision course with the Digital Zone and once he enters through he'll be taken back to the Digital World and the vortex will close up. You have to get off before then."**

"Okay, we'll leave it to you. Roger." Takato nodded and hung up the phone, handing it back to Rika. "Great news, Yamaki's got a plan!" He smiled.

"So who's Roger?" Rika teased, placing her phone back into her pocket.

"It's kind of a lingo thing."

"Why'd you have to bring _him_ into this?" Rika asked, but instead of waiting for an answer she turned on her heel and walked away, grabbing the wrench on her way out of the door. "I don't trust him and I certainly don't need his help." She spat, closing the door behind her.

"Rika…" Takato sighed. He knew exactly why she was upset, and while he didn't blame her, Yamaki still had more of a plan than they did at this moment.

"Let her be, Takato. You can sympathise with her as much as anyone else could right now, but you know you have to give her time to herself." Renamon said as Takato moved to follow her. When she placed her gloved paw upon his shoulder he frowned slightly and resigned to sitting in one of the seats.

"It's just, right now he has a more solid plan than we do right now, I thought Rika would be a little more open towards it is all." Takato sighed.

"I certainly don't blame her, while I don't hold Yamaki in contempt as she does, it's easy to understand why she feels the way she does."

"Yeah, you're right." Takato resigned. "Even so, we've still gotta get of Locomon before it hits downtown." He added, Renamon nodding her agreement.

After a few minutes of the two sitting and standing in silence, waiting for Rika to return, she did just that. The door to the carriage slid open and Rika stood in the doorway, wrench the wrench hanging loosely in her hand and almost touching the bottom of the carriage.

"Rika, are you ready to go?" Takato asked upon looking up and seeing her there, however he got response. She didn't even cast a glance in his direction, instead looking straight ahead. Cautiously, he stood up into the aisle, Renamon taking a stance in front of him.

"Rika?" She asked, her tone flat, something was definitely not right. Her senses proved her right with what happened next as Rika very slowly made her way through the carriage step by step.

" _Every morning, every night you watch over me like the sun in the sky. Every morning and every night will you promise me you'll be my guardian light?"_

"Rika…?" Takato blinked, bewildered at what he had just heard. Rika was…singing? As out of nowhere as it was he still couldn't help but think how amazing her voice sounded. He shook his head, there wasn't time for that, the empty look in her violet eyes was beginning to worry him as she made her way slowly towards him still, and from the guarded stance Renamon now took he could tell that she knew there was something wrong too.

" _Promise that we'll stay for the sunset and when the moon shines through the darkness we can find the path that leads us home and on the way you'll…maybe…sing me a song."_

"Be careful, Takato." Renamon warned, quickly eyeing him from the corner of her eye as she and the teen took a step back as Rika continued her unhurried walk, her path planning on taking her straight past them as if they weren't there.

" _Promise that you always will be there. Hold my hand if ever I'm real scared. Help me stand up tall if I fall down, make me laugh away all my bluest days. How could you promise you always would be there? Why'd you have to go away somewhere? Every morning in to every night do you watch over me like the sun in the sky? Am I all alone-…?"_

Takato reached a hand out and placed it on her shoulder as she passed him and her melodic words cut off abruptly, as if she had never been singing in the first place. "Rika? Hey, are you okay?" Then it was in that moment, Takato had regretted reaching out to touch her when she abruptly whipped around and almost took his head off with a backhanded swipe of the wrench.

He yelped in surprise and stumbled back on to Renamon who caught him in her arms, Rika twisting her body in preparation for another swing. When she took a step forward and swung the makeshift weapon, Renamon threw Takato to the side into the seats so that he'd avoid the swipe, then jumped out of the way herself.

"Rika! What's wrong?" He cried, the empty eyed redhead turning her body to face him. Though her eyes looked at where Takato sat, to her, there was only an obstruction there. It was preventing her from doing what she wanted, and for that, there could be no absolution.

"Stay back, it's not her." Renamon commanded, jumping in between the two and dropping into a defensive stance.

"Trying to interfere is useless." She said monotonously. "I want to sing." She added, gripping the wrench tight in front of her.

"Yeah, you know, I kinda gathered that…" Takato mumbled. His eyes grew wide as she brought the wrench up over her right shoulder, twisting her body along with it for more power.

Outside the quickly worsening scene within Locomon, and completely unaware as to what was happening, a flying green android strangely resembling a rabbit was closing in on the runaway Digimon. In his left arm was a teenage boy with short blue hair, and in his right arm was a red dinosaur, eyes dilated in anticipation of catching up with his Tamer and stopping the Digimon.

"Rapidmon, I thought you were supposed to be faster than this?" Henry eyed up at his partner's armoured head and smirked when the cyborg shot him a dirty look in return.

"Well _excuuuse_ me for being out of practise. I blame you for that, you know! And anyway, in case you didn't know, this crazy train has only been gaining speed this entire time!"

"Here, this'll help then. Digi-Modify! Speed, activate!" Henry called as he swiped the modify card through his D-Arc, albeit awkwardly due to being held by his partner who didn't actually have hands, but rather missile launchers.

Rapidmon felt the energy course through his entire being and revelled in the feeling for a moment before picking up speed and quickly gaining on Locomon. Within the minute they had caught up to the back carriage and Guilmon looked up to Rapidmon. The cyborg nodded in understanding, and with a grunt he threw Guilmon towards the carriage, fire building in the back of his throat as he neared his target.

" _Pyro Sphere!"_

In mid fall, he launched his signature attack right at the door and blasted it to pieces, the splinters of the wood bursting into data fragments and disappearing as the dinosaur landed with a stumble.

"He sure does know how to make an entrance." Henry commented.

As the two watched Guilmon begin to make his way through the carriage, Rapidmon used the last remaining vestiges of energy he had from the modify card to speed up a little more, so that he could near the front of the Digimon and also to see if he could spot one of the others. Unfortunately, he didn't have to wait long when with the cracking of glass, a yellow figure was thrown from one of the windows.

"Renamon?!" Henry called in surprise as Rapidmon, with all his might, managed to speed up enough to catch her before she impacted against the ground which surely would have hurt a lot more than whatever knocked her out of the carriage window.

"Thanks…" She muttered weakly when she opened her eyes to find herself being cradled in Rapidmon's free arm, Henry opposite her in the other one.

"What happened? Is there something else aboard Locomon? Who did this to you?" Henry asked.

"Rika." She replied and Henry's eyes widened. He wanted to question her more but she needed to rest for now, she looked a little worse for wear than he had initially noticed. Whatever was going on for Rika to have damaged Renamon in such a way, for Rika to even _contemplate_ hurting Renamon in any form, it must be more serious than just a runaway train. Henry didn't like the cold sinister feeling he was getting at all.

"I hate to be the bearer of even more bad news, but Takato looks like he's about to get his head taken clean off!" Rapidmon cried out, nodding his head towards the carriage in front of them. Henry snapped his grey eyes to where his partner was looking and now understood the reason for why Renamon looked the way she did, but it only served to add to his confusion even more.

On the roof of the carriage Takato was backing up slightly, the sight of Rika wielding the steel wrench with an emotionless expression unnerving him more and more, especially since he had watched her bat Renamon out of a window like a baseball after chasing them through the carriages. It had given him the chance he needed to make a getaway up onto the roof of the next carriage. Now he could see the body of Locomon up ahead behind Rika, and the fact that the wind was stinging his eyes and blowing his hair and clothes around wasn't making his situation any easier.

He heard a voice call out to him and bit his lip. If he turned it left him open to Rika attacking him unaware, but it would hopefully be Guilmon or one of the others. Clenching his fist he risked turning his head and his deep frown softened when he saw Rapidmon carrying Henry and Renamon not too far behind him.

"Takato, look out!" Henry warned and Takato looked back to Rika who was now too close to him for comfort, brandishing the wrench at her side. She made to swing at him from the extremely close distance, but the goggled teen managed to duck at the last moment. Takato cried out when he lost his footing and tumbled to the side, only narrowly catching himself on the side of the carriage before he fell to certain death, the cries of Henry and the two Digimon with him ringing through his ears.

"Peek-a-boo, I see you!" He heard a voice giggle despite the fierce winds whipping in his ears. He opened his clenched eyes and to his relief spotted Guilmon standing inside the carriage with a huge smile on his maw.

"Guilmon!" Takato shouted happily. His partner nodded to him, not even questioning why he was hanging on for dear life outside the window when something caught his scent. He had been so focused on finding Takato earlier that he hadn't noticed it.

He raised his nose to the air and sniffed a few times, trying to ascertain where exactly the smell was coming from while Takato looked on in wonder as to why he wasn't helping him. Guilmon's eyes dilated when he managed to pinpoint the scent and fire brewed in the back of his throat.

" _Pyro Sphere!"_ He launched a fireball at the back wall of the carriage, near the doorway. He blew open a large hole in it and the resulting shockwave caused Rika atop the carriage to stumble slightly.

"What is he doing?!" Henry worried, seeing Takato manage to haul the upper half of his body back up onto the carriage.

"Henry, look at that!" Henry looked up at Rapidmon's voice and saw something flicker into existence on top of Locomon. A giant purple armoured spider was sitting on top of the train-like Digimon and from underneath the armour around its red eye was a mass of tentacles stretching around Locomon. But one specific one caught his eyes, it was stretching out further than the rest, and connected right to Rika's back with a miniature version of itself wrapping it's many legs around her chest and midsection.

"Parasimon! What in the world is it doing here?!" Henry asked as Rapidmon managed to catch up alongside the carriage that Takato was now back on top of, he too noticing Parasimon.

"I don't know, but at least we know why Rika's gone crazier than a soup sandwich." Rapidmon answered.

"Rapidmon." He heard Renamon say.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, that wasn't very tactful."

"No, can you put me down? I need to stand so that I can help Rika." Renamon replied.

"Oh…" Rapidmon laughed nervously, depositing her carefully through the window she had been knocked out of previously, now a smoking hole in the end of it thanks to Guilmon, who now was mysteriously not in the carriage.

"Rika, you've got to snap out of it! I know you can hear me!" Takato cried out to the redhead in vain.

"Don't interfere. I want to sing." She replied.

"Hawhawhawhaw!" He heard the voice of Parasimon laugh from the front of Locomon.

" _Rock Breaker!"_

To Takato's surprise, he heard Guilmon's voice, and when Parasimon shrieked in pain, he witnessed Rika's eyes return to normal before they closed and she collapsed back on to the saurian standing behind her. Guilmon caught her – carefully due to his claws – and lowered her on to the roof.

"Talk about invasion of the body snatchers." Rapidmon muttered.

Like many times before during his rampage, Locomon jolted, but this time it had two adverse effects that shocked everyone watching. Firstly, the jar woke Rika up, who opened her eyes to see what was happening. But it also sent her rolling to the side, and with no time or warning to catch her, Guilmon missed catching a hold of her before it happened.

As she became more aware of a light feeling around her, Rika screamed, realising she was falling. She could feel her body leave the hard surface of the roof and enter the air and reached her hand out uselessly to grab a hold of the roof. Upon realising in a moment that it was too late she clenched her eyes shut.

As she embraced her mind for the sudden impact of the ground, something warm grabbed a hold of her hand and she opened her violet eyes to meet the determined fire blazing through Takato's crimson ones. Bracing himself with one hand on the roof, Takato had his jaw clenched as he struggled to hold on to her, Guilmon holding on to his legs though struggling himself to keep them all up seeing as though there was no footholds for him to anchor himself to.

"Rika, are you okay?!" He yelled against the wind.

"Takato!"

And as if their current situation wasn't bad enough, they all felt more shuddering and jarring coming from Locomon as his armoured body shifted and changed shape, becoming more powerful and sleek with a call of: "Locomon, Digivolve to GroundLocomon!"

"What is this guy, a Transformer?" Rapidmon asked.

"Rapidmon, we don't have time for jokes, we've got to get ahead and help them, and can't you go any faster?" Henry fretted, they were just ahead of them, if they could speed up just enough they could help them.

"Sorry Henry, but I'm struggling just to keep up now that he's Digivolved!" Rapidmon replied solemnly.

Due to the force of the shocks sent through the carriages attached when GroundLocomon Digivolved, Takato almost lost his grip on Rika, but managed to tighten his hand around her wrist. All his worries about hurting her wrist out the window now as he was more concerned about her entire wellbeing, not just that of her wrist.

"Rika, you have to hold on!"

"Let me go! If you don't we'll both be-…!"

"Shut up!" Rika blinked in surprise at Takato's tone of voice. She looked up into his eyes and her mouth dropped open a little. "Don't say that! The Rika I know would never give up, so I'm not either!"

With another shockwave, Takato's upper body was sent over the edge, Guilmon screeching as he quickly regained his hold over his Tamer so that no-one completely fell off. Reacting in fear at almost falling more and to Takato's words, Rika reached up with her other hand with all her might and clasped it around Takato's wrist, a strained smile appearing on his face.

"We can make it, we just have to work together!" He called down to her, the redhead giving him a nod of determination in reply.

' _Don't let go, Takato!'_ She thought as another shock loosened his grip a little.

"I won't." She heard his voice sternly say, responding to her unspoken plea. She looked up as his grip tightened even more and she ignored the pain in her weakening arms. Her heart soaring when she saw a yellow figure appear on the roof just beside Takato.

"Renamon!"

"Miss me?" Renamon relied with a small smile, reaching down and placing her arms around Takato's waist. With a nod passing between her and Guilmon, the two Digimon hauled Takato back up on to the roof, and with him Rika.

"Way to go, you guys!" They turned towards Henry's voice to see Rapidmon, eyes narrowed as he fought to keep up his speed, with his Tamer in his arms. "Now we gotta figure out what to do about Parasimon before we hit that vortex!"

In response to Henry's words, the four of them on the roof turned around to look past Parasimon at the city ahead as Locomon veered off the city's green line and onto the downtown track, following Yamaki's plan as he had told Takato earlier.

"We have to get to Parasimon, if we take him out, GroundLocomon should hopefully stop." Renamon said. The two teens and Guilmon nodding their agreement. But true to GroundLocomon's form for the day he jolted, thought this time it was only his main body that did so. Rika looked on with a curious eye before she realised what had just happened as she spied GroundLocomon's form pulling away from them.

"He's detached the cars! Renamon." Renamon picked up her Tamer and alongside Takato and Guilmon they made their way over to the edge of the carriage. Renamon with Rika in her arms dropped down, while Takato and Guilmon leapt across to the next roof. Takato and Guilmon sprinted as fast as they could across the distance and prepared to jump over the gap to the last carriage when a scream forced them to stop in their tracks.

"Rika!" They heard Renamon cry out and they peered over the edge to see Rika being dragged away by Parasimon's tentacles once again.

"Rika?!" Takato called out to her.

"Takato, get it off me!" He heard her reply.

The brunet grit his teeth and backed up a few steps. He'd save Rika from Parasimon for good this time. The oversized bug had gone too far when he'd taken control of Locomon, then again when he'd taken over Rika. Now? Now it had become an insult. With Guilmon by his side he ran forward and leapt across the gap between the two ridges and continued his sprint across the next one. Guilmon fell in behind Takato and as two bodies leapt off the edge, one cleared the long distance and landed on the carriage carrying coal with a clink of Chrome Digizoid landing on a hard surface.

Rika squeezed her eyes shut as she rocketed through the air towards Parasimon by his tentacles that stretched out from under his armoured body, a crazy look in his large red eye. She waited for it to speak to her, to taunt her, or to do anything, but opened her eyes in surprise when she heard him scream out in terror and felt herself drop down only to have an armoured arm wrap around her midsection.

Her violet eyes gazed up into the luminous golden ones of the knight that was now holding her, a gleaming lance brandished in his right hand, bits of Parasimon's tentacles dangling of it. He looked down at her, and although she couldn't see anything of his face other than his eyes, she knew that Gallantmon was smiling at her.

"Heh, I'm surprised that worked, Gram isn't exactly made for slashing." He chuckled in the dual voices of Takato and Guilmon. Rika couldn't help but notice how much less childish Gallantmon sounded now that Takato's part of the voice had matured. Her thoughts were cast aside when Gallantmon shifted around to pass the redhead to Renamon, the vulpine Digimon looping her arm behind Rika's back to steady her after her abrupt flight through the air.

Gallantmon nodded to the two and turned back to Parasimon, a decorated shield emblazoned with the Zero Unit appearing on his left forearm. His cape flickering violently behind him in the wind, Gallantmon raised his lance, his arm extended out fully.

"Now, Parasimon, I don't know what you're up to, but it ends now!"

* * *

 **Sorry I was out of it for a while there, my laptop had some problems that prevented me from working for a while, but to make up for it, I managed to knuckle down and write up two chapters as well as plan another one. So I hope you all enjoy my version or 'Runaway Locomon'. I tried to keep it as faithful to the movie as I could without the addition of the other Tamers. If you're wondering about the DigiDestined still you might want to just hold onto your horses a little bit, they'll be back soon enough.**


	7. Invasion of the Birthday Kind

_**Tales of the Tamers: Act 01  
Chapter 06: Invasion of the Birthday Kind**_

* * *

 _ **Aboard GroundLocomon**_

"Now, Parasimon, I don't know what you're up to, but it ends now!"

A knight outfitted in gleaming white and crimson armour, with a similarly coloured cape stared down his opponent on top of the speeding train they were facing off on, lance raised out in front of him and golden eyes unwavering in his determination. The being his threat aimed at? A large spider-like monster with one large eye on the front of its armoured body, its mouth cackling with laughter on its exposed abdomen.

"Hawhawhaaaaw! Why don't ya try and stop me then?" It taunted back to him, narrowing its eye in equal determination.

Without another word, the exalted knight Gallantmon rushed forward, flicking his lance out to the side to deflect green tentacles that shot out at him from under the spider Parasimon's armour. Knowing from pure instinct that deflecting the first wave of tentacles with just his lance wouldn't be enough, he raised his shield, Aegis, just in time too as another volley of tentacles reached out and slammed in to it.

The two were now in a struggle for power as the tentacles wrapped around the shield and held him at bay, Gallantmon trying to keep his footing on the lose coals as he attempted to force his way forwards.

With a mighty grunt, Gallantmon stepped to the side and let his shield arm loosen a little so that the force of Parasimon's pushing followed through and twisted his body to the left. With some quick thinking and footwork, Gallantmon continued in with the spin and broke out into a run across the coals, jumping off the end of the carriage and towards Parasimon on the main body of the train, GroundLocomon.

In mind air, the knight pulled his lance back, preparing himself to pierce the bug right through the eye.

"It's not bug spray, but it should do the trick!" Gallantmon said as he thrust the lance forwards.

Parasimon was quicker than he expected, and to his surprise he lashed out with one of his armoured legs and meekly knocked Gram off course, whipping out more of his tendrils to beat the knight back while he was in mid-air and unable to avoid the attack. Gallantmon flew through the air a little and managed to twist his body to catch himself and slide back across the silver armour of GroundLocomon's main body, raising his shield in front of his body whilst still crouched in case Parasimon tried to follow up.

"You can try all ya want, but my work's almost done!" Parasimon laughed, Gallantmon narrowed his eyes.

"What do you hope to gain from doing this?" Gallantmon replied, still not lowering his shield but peeking his head over the top of it to look him in the eye.

"Haw-hawhaw! It's not what I hope to gain, it's what _we_ hope to gain!" Parasimon chortled. He opened the mouth on his abdomen wide and from it, a thick silver thread burst from it and Gallantmon and his companions followed its trail, GroundLocomon beginning to slow down.

The group watched in curiosity as the web zoomed through the sky piercing the apex of the cyclone-like Digital Zone, a pinpoint of light shining from the impact point, followed by many more. A collective gasp sounded from the group as they realised what was happening when many purple forms similar to Parasimon began falling from the purple and black cyclone of digital matter, spreading out across downtown Tokyo.

"C'mon down boys! We's gonna have a party!" He laughed.

"Look at them all!" Henry called out, approaching the group after his cybernetic rabbit partner, Rapidmon, set him down on the train and dedigivolved to his rookie form of Terriermon.

The sound of a phone ringing caught the redheaded Rika's attention. Looping her arm from around her bipedal vulpine partner's shoulders, Rika dug in her pocket and handed it to Henry, not bothering to check who could've been calling at such an inconvenient time. Gallantmon turned back to eye Parasimon again as Henry cast Rika a bewildered look before answering the phone cautiously.

"Hello?" He asked wearily.

" **Henry? It's Yamaki."**

"Oh, hello." Henry nodded though it was more to himself, understanding now as to why Rika thrust the phone on to him.

" **Mind telling me what the hell is going on out there? There are hundreds of digital anomalies appearing all across Tokyo!"**

"We're looking at the culprit right now. Locomon was being controlled by a Digimon called Parasimon the whole time. He was being used to create a digital zone so that Parasimon could bring his buddies through…"

" **Damn it."** The blond haired man cursed on the other end. **"It's a mass-scale invasion! Our original plan of sending Locomon back to the Digital World is useless now, do you think you can deal with this?"**

"I'm not so sure…" Henry shook his head and looked over from the digital zone towards Parasimon, still being eyed off by Gallantmon and still laughing crazily. "Do you think you could use Yuggoth somehow?" He asked cautiously, shrugging it off when Rika grunted in disdain.

" **I'm afraid that's not possible at the moment, as it stands you three are the only solution we've got. You're going to have to make something work, and make it work fast before they cause widespread destruction."**

"I understand." Henry hung up the phone and handed it back to Rika, furrowing his brow as he did so. The three of them were powerful, but with the sheer number of the Parasimon they'd be overwhelmed sooner rather than later. He clenched his fist around his Digivice and looked at Rika who seemed to be having similar thoughts running through her head.

"What do we do, guys?" Takato's voice chimed out from Gallantmon.

"We have no plan of action and we don't have time to come up with one." Henry replied.

"Y'all might as well give up. _Now_." Parasimon interrupted.

"So we've got no plan and a city full of invading Digimon…" Rika muttered.

"So then I suppose we do what we normally do and wing it!" Terriermon cheered from Henry's shoulder, raising and ear and letting his huge smile radiate.

"Sounds like a plan to me!" Gallantmon agreed as he moved to a standing position, keeping his shield in front of his chest. _"Shield of the Just!"_

His shield began to glow, the symbols on the outer ring glowing white, followed soon by the symbols further in, until even the Zero Unit glowed white as energy piled into his shield. Raising his eyes to meet Parasimon's, he narrowed them as the blast released from the shield, screaming towards him. The only reaction Parasimon was able to give was widening his eye before the blast of hot energy barrelled through him, turning him into data and deleting him.

Gallantmon lowered his shield and felt movement underneath his feet and braced himself as GroundLocomon's form slowed drastically and he returned to the furnace powered ultimate level of Locomon. With Parasimon no longer controlling and powering him, he wasn't able to keep his mega form.

"So this was his plan all along?" Gallantmon asked, turning to face his four friends. Henry nodded.

"If only we'd found out sooner, we would've been able to put a stop to it." The blue haired Tamer added.

"That doesn't matter now, these bugs have put the evil eye on our town and unfortunately for them they made it personal." Rika spat, punching her fist into her other opened palm, smirking at Renamon who nodded back.

"What's say we teach them a lesson in payback?" Renamon suggested.

"Now you're speaking my language!" Terriermon giggled, jumping off Henry's shoulder down onto the coals and looking up at him.

"Biomerge, activate!" Henry and Rika called out in unison, raising their Digivices to their chest and falling back onto their partners as their bodies turned to data and merged from four beings to two.

" **Terriermon, biomerge to…!"**

As Henry fell back onto Terriermon, the two of them became encased in a sphere of green data which quickly grew to be seven stories tall. After no more than a second a giant walking artillery stood in their place over the tracks in a crouched position. His body was covered in large green armour, a helmet with a spike on top covering his face other than his eyes and white muzzle. Two large cannons with yellow rabbit-like smiling faces mounted on his shoulders and rocket revolvers appeared on his wrists, just two of the hundreds of weapons systems the one 'mon army was equipped with.

" **MegaGargomon!"**

" **Renamon, biomerge to…!"**

At the same time, and just as fast, Rika fell back on to Renamon and the two were encased in a sphere of brilliant blue data. Mere seconds later a shaman warrior in a black body suit and golden armour with white detailing covering her breasts and shoulders, with purple coloured boots on her feet, appeared. Long purple gloves with the yin-yang symbol on the backs of the palms appeared alongside a belt with a fox head clasp. From a fox like mask that covered the top half of her face, concealing her eyes, flowed long white hair into two segments, tied off at the ends with ribbons. Twirling her Vajra staff in her palm, she felt the energy and emotions of those around her flow through her body.

" **Sakuyamon!"**

Gallantmon leapt up onto the left shoulder of the crouched behemoth that was Henry and Terriermon as Locomon pulled away, albeit at a slower pace as he gained awareness of where he was. Reacting just as quick, Sakuyamon flipped up and landed gracefully on his right shoulder.

His two allies now in position, the large black booster packs on MegaGargomon's back roared to life and with a burst of flames he took off into the sky, makeshift wings extending from his helmet to give him some limited manoeuvrability as he flew off towards the vortex downtown.

"Let's show them that we aren't as out of practise as they may think!" Rika said, Sakuyamon raising her golden staff.

"You said it, Rika!" Terriermon added as MegaGargomon, with speed one wouldn't expect from his great size, blasted off downtown, reaching the area within the next few minutes.

As his large form landed in one of the streets, he cracked the pavement slightly, kicking up dust in his wake as well. Parasimon swarmed the streets and sides of the buildings around them, chasing people to hide in the buildings or to duck into an alleyway. As one of the bugs approached a teenager and what he assumed to be her younger sibling, Gallantmon wasted no time leaping into action. Literally.

He jumped off MegaGargomon's shoulder and lance first he fell towards the ground, impaling the Parasimon on the end of his lance. It burst in to data and Gallantmon placed his feet on the ground, pulling Gram out of the concrete and flicking it out to his side.

"Y-you saved us, thank you!" Gallantmon turned to face the blonde haired teen who was pulling a younger blonde haired girl closer to her and nodded.

"You need to get away, it's not safe here." He replied.

"Watch your head!" A feminine voice called out. Gallantmon looked up in time to see four foxes of different colours sweep ahead of him and burn up a Parasimon that was coming for him with a shrill scream. He looked over to see Sakuyamon standing there with a smirk on her lips, the four elemental foxes returning to four pipes on her belt.

Being a shaman digimon allowed her to detect emotions from those around her, due to this, she was able to tell that under his helmet, Gallantmon had smiled along with the nod he gave her. However, the appreciation was short lived when some of the Parasimon around took note of what was happening and saw more victims to attack. Gallantmon and Sakuyamon dropped into defensive standings and Gallantmon turned his head towards the two girls behind him.

"Go! Now!" He ordered, stabbing at a Parasimon that leapt at him with Gram as the two girls quickly complied, the teen casting one quick glance back at her two saviours once again before hurrying around a corner.

"MegaGargomon, do you think you could prevent some of them from landing?" Sakuyamon called up to the behemoth.

"Can I prevent them from landing?" Terriermon shot back sarcastically. "Of course I can! _Mega Barrage!_ "

MegaGargomon's entire body opened up from various places around him – even his fingertips – and let loose a storm of missiles, rockets, and bullets. The volley of pure destructive power soared into the sky, impacting with various Parasimon attempting to exit the twisting cyclone. Some rockets missed their mark and flew harmlessly to detonate in the sky, but most of them were heat seeking so they hit dead on their mark, deleting them in mid descent.

Though he had initially thinned the invading ranks a little, Sakuyamon looked up and saw that within moments it was as if MegaGargomon hadn't done anything at all. Sensing an ill presence behind her, she whipped around and knocked one of the Parasitic Digimon in to the side of the nearby building.

" _Fox Drive!"_ She called and with a swing of her staff, blue flames licked out around the Digimon's form and deleted it.

Another Parasimon leapt at Gallantmon and he pulled his shield in front of him, then swept it out to bat the parasite away. Seeing another coming towards him, he raised his lance and it cackled with electricity at the tip. He waited for the Parasimon to get closer and then:

" _Lightening Joust!"_

A ball of lightning flew from the tip and hit the oncoming Digimon, deleting it. Looking up to see how MegaGargomon was doing, he saw that the massive Digimon was being swarmed by many Parasimon. He knew he had to help before things on the ground got too chaotic and leapt up into the sky, bringing Aegis up in front of him and aiming it so that it would skim along MegaGargomon's chest armour where some Parasimon were.

Sakuyamon sent out her flaming fox spirits to deal with more Parasimon and noticed Gallantmon leap up into the air, his powerful form managing to reach the giant Digimon's chest height with his jump, yet she knew he could probably reach eye level with MegaGargomon if he tried. She watched him bring his shield up to fire at the Parasimon on their ally's chest, but as gravity began to take its effect on the knight and his powerful attack was fully charged, Sakuyamon spotted some Parasimon leaping at him from the side of a building.

"Gallantmon, watch out!" She bellowed out to him. He turned his head too late and three Parasimon attached to him, the force of their impact taking him out of the sky to crash out of Sakuyamon's sight.

"Takato!" Rika exclaimed with worry.

"He's fine!" Henry called down to her after looking over at Gallantmon getting back up to fight a way away in another street.

Sakuyamon nodded and as MegaGargomon released another volley of missiles from his body, she ran forwards. As she picked up the pace and her feet couldn't keep up with her body she lifted them off the ground and simply floated, bringing the arm holding her staff behind her. Winds whipped up around her and when the attention of the Parasimon around her was caught and they advanced on her, she stopped abruptly and spun around, cherry blossom petals mixing with the sharp winds and amethyst energy as she let loose one of her area attacks.

" _Amethyst Wind!"_

Some of the Parasimon closest to her were deleted when the vicious blades of winds whipped up pierced their bodies, but others further away from the epicentre of the attack were left relatively unharmed.

MegaGargomon noticed a lone Parasimon jumping towards him from a roof to his right and he clenched his right hand, twisting his massive form violently. " _Power Pummel!"_ With a sickening crack, his large fist caught the spider in the air and pounded it right back into the building. When MegaGargomon removed his fist from the building, Henry groaned at the indent his fist had left.

"Gee, Henry, way to up the collateral damage. Ol' Yamaki's not gonna be happy about a MegaGargomon sized fist mark left in a building." Terriermon laughed and Henry just groaned again, knowing he couldn't say anything because it had been his will in that moment that had made them punch the Parasimon.

"Don't remind me." He muttered.

Back down in the streets, Sakuyamon was starting to become overwhelmed with the Parasimon. They had realised how powerful the priestess was from a distance and had started to just rush her in an attempt to close the gaps between them and her. Aware of what the parasites were attempting to do, she knocked the closest one back with her staff and then slammed it into the concrete.

A large circular rune appeared under her and she dropped to her knees, her hands placed together in front of her chest, her lips moving as she softly uttered an incantation. In the few seconds it took her to speak the incantation, she looked up with a smirk.

" _Crystal Sphere!"_

Getting to one knee she gripped her staff and spun around, standing up in the process. A semi-orb appeared around the edges of the rune and as she'd spun upwards it extended out, pushing back the Parasimon gathered around her with it. Though coming in to contact with the energy wall did some damage to them, it was more of an area clearing move that she could use to make some space for herself.

An explosion sounded out from an intersection close to her and Sakuyamon turned to face it. Dust obscured her view and she strained to see what had caused the dust to have been kicked up. The silhouette of a knight appeared from the smoke and when he swept his now tattered cape up and back across his shoulders the dust cleared. He looked up and met the gaze of Sakuyamon and raised his lance to his side.

He took off at a sprint towards her, shield by his side. As he got closer, he took one last step before launching himself right at her. Sakuyamon widened her eyes in confusion, having no idea what Takato and Guilmon were doing. She unconsciously raised her staff, but blinked at she came eye-to-eye with Gallantmon, his lance extended past her head in stuck in the eye of a Parasimon briefly before it burst into data, dying with a squeal.

"Careful." Gallantmon laughed.

Before the Rika part of Sakuyamon could respond with a snarky comment, the shaman put her left arm on Gallantmon's right shoulder and flipped over his head. She lashed out with a kick that smacked another Parasimon into the ground with a crunch, making his body go limp only to be impaled by Sakuyamon's Vajra staff.

"Careful." Sakuyamon mocked him, prompting Gallantmon to roll his eyes, one of his only real discernible facial expressions that could be seen.

A big gust of wind caused Gallantmon's cape and Sakuyamon's hair to whip violently around and when they looked up they both saw the massive form of MegaGargomon, hitting a group of Parasimon with an uppercut, sending them high into the sky. Deciding that gravity would take its effect on their most likely unconscious forms, MegaGargomon looked down at Gallantmon and Sakuyamon.

"Get that in you!" Terriermon giggled.

"How about you _both_ be careful?" Henry suggested.

Another small group of the Parasimon came at them, causing Sakuyamon and Gallantmon to dodge to either side of the street. A lone parasite charged Gallantmon and he met it with Gram face-on, flicking it up and over his head to shoot at another with his Lightening Joust attack.

"Kinda hard when there's so many of them!" He grunted.

"He's right," Sakuyamon added, twirling her staff to wrap around some tentacles that tried to grab her and yanking it as hard as she could, severing them from the body. "Every time we destroy one two more take its place."

The two of them expecting a reply from MegaGargomon stole a glance over to his form, only to act in shock and dive out of the way when his huge form came crashing down into the ground, Parasimon swarming all over his entire body, most likely having come from somewhere else in the city to join the fight. Thankfully, he didn't crash into any buildings on his way down, leaving only small impressions of his body in the concrete.

"Henry, are you alright?" Guilmon called out as Gallantmon barely dodged an attack.

"What am I, chopped liver?" Terriermon whined.

"Now's not the time to- Aghhh!" Sakuyamon cried out as tendrils from multiple Parasimon gripped at her arms. Even more snaked around her form and pinned her arms to her sides and her legs together.

As more and more tentacles joined in on holding her down, soon only her head was exposed and not wrapped tightly up. As she screamed in pain, the dozen Parasimon holding her down tightened their grip on her, intent on choking the life out of her.

"Sakuyamon!" Gallantmon called out in worry for his friend. He rolled over his shield to dodge some Parasimon and had to quickly duck and roll away again when MegaGargomon's large fist came swinging his way, the large Digimon attempting to get the swarm off his body so that he could move again, to no avail.

"MegaGargomon?! Are you okay?" He asked as he ran towards him.

"It's all peaches and rainbows here." Terriermon replied. "Sakuyamon needs help though!" He finished along with Henry's voice as MegaGargomon.

With only a nod in response, Gallantmon leapt up onto the huge form of MegaGargomon's helmet, and twisted his body to face Sakuyamon, choking for air and struggling underneath the force holding her to get a grip on her staff so that she could break out. With an almighty push, he launched himself off MegaGargomon right towards her to sever the connections between her and her captors.

He felt something snake around his foot and he slammed into the ground, rapidly being dragged across the damaged concrete away from the priestess and also MegaGargomon, more tendrils wrapping around his form.

"Takato, what do we do?" Guilmon asked worriedly.

"I won't let Parasimon win!" Takato exclaimed.

Sakuyamon watched as more and more Parasimon swarmed Henry's form as he tried in a futile effort to get them off him by swiping at them and kicking out his legs. But due to him having to be extra careful about the buildings around him – being able to topple them if he hit them hard enough – he was attacking too slowly and too weakly to do anything.

As her vision began to darken and her lungs burnt for air, she watched Gallantmon get dragged further and further away from them, more tentacles wrapping around his form. Black spots began to form in her eyes and the Parasimon gripped her even tighter as she screamed with her last remnants of breath.

When she did so, her entire vision was engulfed in a crimson light.

The light blinded her and she wasn't even sure if she was alive anymore until the light died down and she saw the source of the bright explosion. Standing tall in his crimson and gold armour with eight brilliantly shining wings. A double ended holy lance in his right hand, a double edged holy sword in his left.

With a mighty flap of his wings, Gallantmon: Crimson Mode shot off like a speeding bullet towards the digital zone. He burst right through the outside of it and changed his course to head straight up at the epicentre of it. He gripped his holy lance, Gungnir, in his hands tighter and drew his arm back, the determination to save their friends powering up Takato and Guilmon beyond belief.

" _Quo Vadis!"_

Grunting with the force, Gallantmon threw Gungnir with all of his might straight up into the vortex, it exploded in a blast of crimson. The wave of crimson energy expanded out and as it did so, it engulfed the entire area, taking out all of the Digimon with it.

Sakuyamon gasped for entire lungful's of air when she felt the pressure instantly release from her body and she dropped to the ground, rolling over on to her hands and knees. When she was finished with her coughing fit that raked her whole body, she looked up to see MegaGargomon getting slowly to his feet. He was using a nearby building for support and his body was now completely void of all Parasimon.

"Well aren't you just the bell of the ball?" MegaGargomon taunted as he saw the shining form of Gallantmon float over towards them, his eyes conveying his concern for them.

"What a miracle this was." He chuckled lightly, looking at his own armour-clad arms. He was never quite sure how to initiate the mode change to go to his Crimson Mode, but he had wondered many times how to without coming up with anything. Sadly, this time proved no different, but wither way he was just glad he was able to do it.

"At least everything seems like it's over." Renamon spoke up.

"Not everything." Henry added and when everyone turned to look at him he continued. "Well we've still got a birthday party to go to."

Sakuyamon smiled and nodded. With all the commotion that had appeared out of nowhere, Rika had completely forgotten that today was her sixteenth birthday. "Guess we better go to my house then." She said.

She cast her gaze over to Gallantmon, flashing with a white light the moment his feet touched the ground. Takato and Guilmon lay on the ruined ground, both passed out, most likely from the amount of energy they used up as Gallantmon, and then some after mode changing. With a sigh she walked over to the two of them.

"Mind picking up dino-boy? I really don't fancy carrying him and the twelve tonnes of the garbage disposal that is his stomach." Rika asked MegaGargomon. He nodded to her and picked Guilmon up effortlessly in his palm. He didn't even stir slightly, just snored heavily.

Sakuyamon knelt down and placed one arm under Takato's knees, the other under his unbuttoned overshirt and on his back. Her attention was caught when a small box fell out of his pocket and she bent down once again, awkwardly attempting to pick it up without dropping the unconscious teen.

She turned over the little blue box in her hand to get a look at it. Rika saw a black insignia on the lid that she recognised seeing when her mother had gone out shopping and came back with copious amounts of jewellery and shook her head slightly.

"What is it?" Renamon inquired within their body.

"The idiot's death wish." Rika smiled broadly.

* * *

 _ **Nonaka Household**_

Takato's eyes opened slowly to see the sight of a roof above him. He blinked a few times in confusion and brought his hands up to his face to rub his eyes. He looked around for a few moments to find he was in a rather sparsely decorated room, lying on the top of a futon that seemed to have been rolled out just for him as it didn't look that it fit in with the room. There was shelving along the wall behind him with a few books, some were novels, and others he noticed seemed to be books of setting up and maintaining computers.

He cast his gaze over near the sliding paper doors and noticed a small computer sitting on a low table. However this brought with him the realisation that he was at Rika's house, the old traditional style of their house being the dead giveaway.

For the first time, Takato noticed Guilmon wasn't in the room, and walked over to the door, feeling the cold floorboards through his socks. He slid it open and gazed down the hallway and spied the bodies of Henry, Terriermon, and Seiko sitting around a table laid out with food while chatting happily. That is, until Henry rapped Terriermon on the head with his knuckles and Seiko shook her head.

Takato heard movement and turned to look down the outside corridor. Against the orange glow of the sun he saw Rika sitting against the doorframe of a part of the corridor that led into the garden with the koi pond. He stood there for a moment, appreciating the sight of her framed there with an orange hue around her edges, stray strands of her red hair visible in the light, still ruffled from the day's events.

Wishing he'd had his sketchbook with him, Takato shook his head and made his way over to her.

"Hey," He greeted, sitting down against the other side of the doorway and giving her a smile.

"So you finally woke up?" She asked rhetorically.

"Sure did." He replied anyway, gazing out to the beautiful garden. It was strange to him to be back here after so long. He remembered one time prior to when their group had fallen apart when he alongside their friends had all been hanging out at Rika's house one day when an argument had broken out between Rika and Kazu, resulting in Takato eventually being knocked off the small bridge and falling into the koi pond.

"What are you thinking about?" Rika asked, her violet eyes not looking at him when she spoke, rather gazing into the setting sky.

"Just the time I fell into the koi pond." Takato laughed, Rika gave a small smile in turn at the memory. "I don't even remember what you and Kazu were arguing about that day." He added.

"Me either to be completely honest. It all seems like a lifetime ago." She admitted. Takato couldn't help but agree. The events of the day had certainly came from out of nowhere and now it seemed like they'd been at peace for a lot longer than they had been. What had only been no more than five years felt like hundreds to him now that he was thinking about it.

"Today was quite the ride, eh? Can't believe I passed out."

"Both you _and_ Guilmon passed out." Rika chuckled lightly, closing her eyes for a few seconds. "After that little stunt at the end there I'm not surprised."

"We weren't entirely sure that was even going to do anything. I thought Guilmon and I were going to get sucked into the Digital World for sure." Takato stifled a yawn and rubbed his eyes again to rid himself of the bleariness.

"It's a good thing you didn't. Renamon and I would've had to track the two of you down and kick your asses." Rika joked, looking sidelong at him at raising a fist.

Takato scratched the back of his head and smiled lopsidedly. "Definitely a good thing I didn't then." He agreed.

His attention was piqued when Rika suddenly turned to face him, looking deep into his eyes. He worried about what she was going to say next until she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small box that sounded alarms through his head. His hands instinctively went to his pockets and he felt around inside them, dearly hoping that what Rika was holding wasn't actually in fact what Rika was definitely holding in her right hand.

"Oh…" He resigned when his pockets yielded nothing except for his cards.

"So I'm guessing whatever's in here is for me then?" She tilted her head slightly, but already knew the answer anyway from Takato's reaction.

"You didn't look?" He raised an eyebrow. If it were him in her position he didn't think he would've been able to resist himself.

"No," she scoffed with a shake of her head. "Why would I?" She tossed it back to him and he caught it after it hit his chest, not expecting her to toss it to him. He resigned from the entire situation with a sigh and put it back in his pocket. Until Rika brought him back into the evermore confusing situation.

"You're not going to give it to me?" Her tone sounded disappointed and Takato screamed internally. Some higher power was definitely trying to screw with him this afternoon, he was sure of it. He didn't think he'd ever understand girls as long as he lived. First Rika had been mad at him for buying her a present and saying that he should return it. Now, after somehow acquiring it, she'd handed it back to him without looking at it and was wondering why he wasn't giving it to her.

"W-well I thought that… But you… I just…" He stammered, trying to comprehend the situation.

Rika sighed. "Just hand me the present, Gogglehead. It fell out of your pocket after you passed out and I've been curious about it ever since."

"Why didn't you just open it if you knew it was yours?" He asked.

"Because…" She said, her tone going soft as she nervously shifted her weight. "I wanted you to give it to me. Or whatever…." She added, quickly glancing away from him as she spoke.

"Oh," was all Takato could reply with as he turned the box around in his hand. "Well, uh… Here you go then. Happy Birthday?" He handed the small blue box back to her and she awkwardly took it, muttering an apology when their hands made uncooperative contact.

Rika studied it for a few seconds before she pulled the lid off slowly, shaking it over her palm to help loosen it. The bottom dropped out into her palm and she gasped when the small metal object gleamed with the light of the setting sun. Within the small box was a pendant. Two swirls, one black and one white, formed to make a circle. In the larger side of the white swirl was a small black dot and in the larger side of the black was a small white dot.

Rika was very familiar with the symbol. It the symbol of co-existence. Of peace between light and darkness. The links between harmony and chaos, and how one can't exist without the other. It was the symbol that was on all of her partner's evolutions, even on their combined form of Sakuyamon. Rika picked the small pendant up between her fingers and looked at it against the sun, before letting it fall in her palm, the silver chain dangling through her fingers.

"Takato, what the hell?" She breathed, looking at him.

"What do you mean?" He asked, taken back slightly.

"How did you afford this?" Takato just shrugged. In truth, he'd been saving up his allowance for quite a long time, and since he was older and helped out more in the bakery he earnt a lot more money in exchange for his help. It was a borderline paying job for him, though it was treated as more of a chore instead.

Takato frowned when he saw Rika go to put it back in the box. "You aren't going to wear it?" Gauging from her reaction he'd assumed she didn't like it, and was now beginning to worry.

"No, it's just…" she began, awkwardly playing with it in her fingers before she stopped, not knowing how to continue.

"Just what?" The goggled teen encouraged, leaning forward a little.

"I don't wear jewellery is all… It's more of a thing for my mother, you know?" She admitted and Takato sat back. He hit his forehead with his palm. The one thing he hadn't considered when he'd come across the necklace was that Rika didn't wear jewellery. Now that it had been brought to his attention, he couldn't think of a single time that he'd ever seen her wear any. In fact, the closest thing he'd seen her own to any kind of accessory were the wristbands she used to wear when they were younger. Then again, they all had worn them as if it had been some kind of strange fashion statement.

"Awh, crap. I didn't even think of that." He slumped down a little and the corners of his lips turned down in to a frown.

Rika frowned too. She reached up and pulled her hair out of its spiked ponytail, only to retie it up again neater with all the loose strands reigned in. She cleared her throat and Takato looked at her with her back to him. She held the necklace out to him and he took it from her.

With shaky hands he undid the small clasp and looped it around Rika's neck, being careful not to get it caught in her hair as he did so. He fumbled with the tiny clasp yet again when doing it up. As his fingers lightly brushed the back of her neck, Rika shivered involuntarily and Takato mumbled an apology under his breath. Finally succeeding in the struggle against the clasp he sat back and Rika turned towards him. Though she was holding the – what she now noticed to be double sided – pendant in her hands and looking at it intently.

"How do I look?" She questioned after a few moments of silence passed between them.

"You look great." Takato's face caught fire in an instant. "I mean, it looks great! That necklace looks really great on you! You look good in it! I mean… Ugh, I'm just going to stop talking now." His hands dropped from their vigorous defensive waving when his blabbering ended and he reconciled to just sitting there, waiting for Rika to do something. Anything.

Instead of berating him or yelling at him as he expected though, she just softly laughed and lazily punched him in the arm. "Thanks, doofus."

"Doofus? That's a new one." He noted. Rika nodded.

"Mnn, yeah. I'm thinking if I call you that enough it might eventually catch on and become another thing I can call you."

"How many things are we planning to call me now?"

"Well so far I've only got Gogglehead," she smiled. "But after all these years I think it's become ingrained in your personality."

"Ingrained in my personality?" He repeated.

"Yeah, like the things you would do are goggleheaded things. Like today, that was a goggleheaded moment." Takato thought about it for a moment before nodding.

"I see."

A few more minutes of silence passed between them after Takato agreed with her, and the two sat overlooking the serene yard, vague noises from the others inside the house reaching their ears to give the whole scene an ambient feel to it until Rika spoke once more.

"I guess I should be thanking you as well."

"You don't have to, it's your birthday!"

"Not that, doofus." She grinned. "Though thanks for that, it really is beautiful."

"No problem."

"I meant for earlier today though," she continued. "Aboard Locomon when you held on to me until Renamon and Guilmon helped us up. Thanks." She looked at him sidelong once more and he smiled widely and nodded.

"It's really not a big deal. You would've done the same for me if you hadn't been under the control of Parasimon when I fell." Rika nodded. She remembered everything that had happened while she was under Parasimon's control after she'd came to, but the fact that she was hovering only a few meters from the ground speeding beneath her pushed all those thoughts away for the time as things escalated.

"You feel like going inside?" Takato offered as he stood up, looking down at her after gazing down the hall where he could see Terriermon swipe a bit of food from Guilmon's hand before he could eat it, causing him to put his own hand in his mouth.

"Actually," she said, "could you do me a favour?"

"Sure thing?"

"Could you watch the sunset with me?"

"Of course." Takato agreed. Not daring to bring up her singing earlier during the day, knowing that obviously she was thinking about something deep in her mind. He resisted the urge to ask, and instead took Renamon's earlier advice to leave her be once again. With that, he sat down beside her in silence and the two of them sat there watching the sun over the next few minutes as it lowered behind the buildings of Tokyo.


	8. Bodies from the Fog - Part One

_**Tales of the Tamers: Act 01  
Chapter 07: Bodies from the Fog (Part One)**_

* * *

 _ **Yamabuki High**_

Blue haired Henry Wong sat on the grass with his back against the trunk of a sturdy tree, his body covered by the shade it was providing from the sun. With his hand on his chin in contemplation of the previous day's events, he was watching the clouds roll by leisurely. Near to him lay the shaggy brown haired Takato Matsuki, one of Henry's best friends, propped up on his elbows and his face having a bemused smile due to the fact Guilmon and Terriermon were arguing over food, something the two squabbled over often.

Takato brought his attention away from the two digital monsters and looked up to his friend. "Do you have any ideas about how Parasimon and Locomon bioemerged yesterday?" he asked, shifting his weight onto his side.

Henry shook his head. "I've been thinking but I've got nothing," he answered. "Logically our D-Arcs should've gone off to warn us about them." The teen looked to his friend with a strained expression, not that he could muster any other one at the current moment having been unable to sleep the night before after everything.

"Do you think they're broken or something?" Takato removed his gold rimmed D-Arc from his belt and looked it over, untucking part of his white button-up school shirt from his black pants as he did so. He was briefly distracted by Terriermon and Guilmon ending their argument and Guilmon retreating to Takato's side to sleep, but then went back to examining his Digivice.

"No," Henry replied, "don't you think that if they were broken we wouldn't have been able to digivolve the Digimon or biomerge with them?"

"I guess you're right." Takato sighed, clipping his D-Arc back to his belt and fixing his shirt.

"It just doesn't make sense." Henry returned to looking up at the sky. "Yamaki said that even the Hypnos systems couldn't pick them up until they'd already appeared, and that was still after we'd found out about it."

"Yeah, Rika and I were already on board Locomon when he called us. I had so many missed calls from him on my phone earlier on yesterday because I'd left it at home by accident." The brunet chuckled.

"Let's hope when we meet up with them tonight that my Dad or somebody else has discovered something."

"Man, my Mum is not happy that Yamaki wants to speak to us all on a school night. That's on top of the fact that dangerous Digimon came back." Takato looked back to Henry, then around the fields, but for the life of him he couldn't spot Rika. "Do you think she's late?"

"Huh?"

"Rika. Do you think she's late?"

Henry blinked and joined Takato in looking around. "If she were going to be late then Renamon would've appeared and said something. She's probably just busy with something and needs her help, she'll turn up."

Takato nodded, seemingly satisfied with that though he still wondered where she could be. The group of them had been late to school so their walk to school had been quick and they hadn't seen much of each other. His brow furrowed softly, why did that bother him all of a sudden? It had only been a few weeks ago when they were pretty much strangers to one another, so why now did he feel a strange feeling in his gut when she wasn't around? He'd felt this before. He wasn't sure where, but it was familiar to him.

Sighing, he gave up. He'd figure it out eventually – he hoped, anyway – right now there were bigger problems to deal with later on that his focus was needed for, and he knew how hard it could be to focus sometimes. It was a problem he struggled with daily when in class.

* * *

Over near the school's main building, redheaded Rika Nonaka was leaning against the brick walls watching her two friends and their Digimon from afar. Somewhere along her usual approach to their meeting spot she'd stopped and now for the life of her couldn't take another step. Her hand clenched tightly around her store brought bento box and she cursed Takato under her breath.

She figured it had to do with him. It was always to do with that gogglehead when she couldn't understand the thoughts running through her own head. It was just like when she'd first met him and he had relentlessly tried to be her friend. She couldn't fathom why. They had no history with one another, she was just some girl he had claimed to have dreamt of. Admittedly for however creepy it was, weirdly she felt a little flattered for it. That didn't outweigh how strange it was though.

Then again not even a few weeks ago when he and Guilmon had approached her on the street. When she'd turned around to come face-to-face with him she'd planned to just walk away. But something about the determined look in his eyes had stopped her and now here they were.

She brought her free hand up to clasp the pendant hanging around her neck. _'Dumbass…'_ She cursed him once again. Why'd he have to go and give her a present? She'd specifically told him and Henry not to but they did anyway. Now she didn't want to take the stupidly beautiful necklace off. Somehow in the space of the last twenty hours that she'd owned it, it had grown on her. The last thing she wanted was to turn into one of those prissy girls who weighed themselves down with jewellery. Next thing she knew she'd be willingly signing on for photo shoots with her mother.

' _Ugh, now that's a disturbing thought…'_

" _Rika."_ Renamon's voice resounded in her head.

" _Yes, Renamon?"_

" _Why are we not with the others? Is something the matter?"_

" _Nothing's wrong."_ Well, that wasn't entirely wrong was it? It's not that something was really _wrong_ , just more that she couldn't figure out if anything was. Something definitely felt off to her, but she couldn't wrap her head around whatever was making her so confused.

" _Are you sure…?"_

" _Yes. I'm sure. Why do you keep pressing the matter?"_

" _You've been standing there holding on to the necklace that Takato gave you for quite some time now. The others are wondering where we are."_

Rika blinked and looked down at her own hand, her fingers toying with the yin-yang pendant hanging from the chain. Her cheeks grew hot and she let go, her grip tightening around her bento box even more now.

"Nothing's wrong. Let's go." Rika stormed off towards them, plotting herself down between Takato and Henry. The force of her backside hitting the grass woke up Guilmon from his nap and startled Terriermon atop Henry's head.

Without looking at them she unwrapped her meal. Guilmon crawled over and sniffed at her food, saliva pooling in his maw at the smell of the delicious food. Rika yanked her food away from him and scowled. She looked back at her food held out away from the red dinosaur and saw a purple gloved arm holding on to an outstretched teal ear of Terriermon.

"Geez, you could've just given me a verbal warning like Henry does, Renamon." Terriermon pulled his ear from her grasp and rubbed it coyly. Renamon just nodded to Rika with an almost imperceptible smile and disappeared.

"I was beginning to wonder where you were." Takato said, catching Rika's attention as she began to eat her food.

"Jusht took me a while to get out of classh," Rika replied through a mouthful of food.

"You really shouldn't talk with your mouth full." Henry nagged but laughed when she flipped him off in response. "Come on, don't be like that. You know how impressionable Terriermon can be." He reached up and covered Terriermon's eyes with his hand.

Terriermon removed Henry's hand with his ears and an evil smile crossed his face. "Yeah, Rika, you're being such a bad example for little ol' me right now."

"I'll show you a bad example…" she muttered, putting more food in her mouth and turning away from him. She wasn't going to let Terriermon get to her today, she had enough on her mind without letting him win against her in the game of will that he so loved to play at the worst of times whether intentional or not.

"You know, if you end up making a habit of being late then I'm gonna start calling you Rika Matsuki."

Takato choked.

He could feel Guilmon talking in his ear, asking him if he was okay but his coughing fit was simply racking his entire body too much for him to respond comprehensibly. His eyes focused on Rika and he could see her hands beginning to shake, her violet eyes aflame with fury.

Terriermon swallowed nervously, realising too late that he had certainly gone too far this time around. "H-hey, now… C'mon we can talk this out can't w-…?!" With the click of Rika's fingers Terriermon vanished from sight, whisked away into darkness by Renamon.

"One day your mouth is going to get you into even more trouble than it already does." Henry sighed.

"Takato, are you okay?" Guilmon began to hit Takato on the back, and when the brunet finally stopped choking on the air he was supposed to be breathing he nodded.

"I'm okay now, thanks." Takato rubbed Guilmon's head. He looked over at Rika as she straightened herself and resumed eating. Honestly, he couldn't believe that Terriermon was still breathing, that is, if he was. Henry didn't seem too worried though so Takato let the issue go. Surprisingly Rika had stayed a lot calmer than he expected. He watched with curious eyes as she reached up and touched something at her neck, and when it glinted between her fingers he realised what it was.

"You're wearing the necklace." He noted, a smile gracing his lips.

Rika looked at him with narrowed eyes and blinked, then realising she was touching it she quickly tucked it back into her shirt and pulled her green blazer tighter around her as if it were a prison to keep it locked away. "So what?" she snapped.

Takato shifted to a sitting position and shifted around for a few moments. "I dunno, it just looked nice, I think…?" Great, he'd done it again. Stumbling over his words was something he did often, especially when he didn't actually have an answer. He'd just wanted to point out that she was wearing it, nothing was really planned after that point on and now a dense wave of awkwardness was washing over his brain, preventing him from thinking coherently.

Rika huffed and turned away, shoving as much food as she could into her mouth and chewing hard so as to attempt to block out any thoughts or further conversation. Henry, however, wasn't letting the matter go easily.

"What's with you today?" He asked.

Rika ignored him as best as she could and shovelled more food into her mouth. She closed her eyes as she ate and when she opened them again she found that Henry's grey eyes were still focused on her, insistent and persevering. Swallowing the food in her mouth she resigned.

"I don't wear jewellery." She replied. She wasn't sure if that was truly the problem. Sure, it was the truth, she didn't wear jewellery and she had told Takato that last night, but she'd made an exception for this. So what really was the problem other than Terriermon deciding that he wanted to be especially annoying today?

"If you don't like it then why are you wearing it?" Guilmon asked, poking his mouth with one claw.

"You know, you don't have to wear it if you don't want to." Watching Takato awkwardly rub the back of his head as he said that made her frown. She could feel the guilt welling up inside her and didn't enjoy the way it made her feel one bit. She liked the necklace, she really did, and now her plan to make it the scapegoat for her unknown source of anger had backfired.

"No, that's not what I meant." She said quickly before he got the wrong idea. "I like it, it's just been a bad day is all."

Silence overcame the group of them and Henry shook his head. He mentally laughed at the two of them and turned away. _'The two of them sure are painful to watch. Takato's too dense to realise it and Rika's too stubborn to admit it.'_ He smiled. _'Hopefully one day soon they catch on, it's getting hard to watch.'_

Before Henry could speculate any further however, his attention was caught by Guilmon and the low guttural growl emitting from his throat that was quickly joined in by the chiming of three Digivices. _'Guess our peaceful days really are over…'_

With a sigh, Henry stood up alongside his two companions. Guilmon having stopped his growling now though his eyes were still dilated as Terriermon fell to the ground from the tree above and Renamon appeared by Rika's side.

"What do we do?" Takato wondered, looking at his gold rimmed D-Arc as the holographic map swung around and settled on a direction that he was familiar in going after school ended.

"What do you mean?" Rika retorted. "We get to work." She looked down at her own blue rimmed D-Arc. She could already feel the adrenaline beginning to pump through her veins, but she reigned herself in. As fun as the thought of fighting alongside Renamon was again, she wasn't too eager to get back into it so soon after the Parasimon Invasion.

"Calm down," Henry raised his hands to get their attention, not having pulled out his own Digivice, "we can't just all go rushing out to fight. Remember, we're at school and we could get into a lot of trouble for just rushing out."

"What do you suggest we do then?" Renamon asked.

"Maybe Takato and Guilmon should go ahead. Rika and I need to go tell our teachers what's going on, I'm sure they'll understand."

"Are you sure?" Takato asked.

"Yeah, I'll cover for you with Miss Asaji, get going." Takato nodded and took off with Guilmon by his side.

"Why do they get to go on ahead?" Terriermon whined, climbing up onto Henry's shoulder.

"Because I'm afraid that if he were to deal with Miss Asaji then she'd freak out more than she probably already will." Henry smiled.

"Let's just get this over with." Rika sighed, walking off towards the school building.

* * *

 _ **Shinjuku Park**_

Matt groaned. He'd definitely had better days. The last thing he remembered was being in the Digi-World fighting a losing battle against the Parasimon when a giant vortex erupted. Now he was standing on a footpath, trees on both sides and no idea where he was.

"Matt?" He heard Tai's voice and whirled around to see him helping Mimi to her feet. He could see the large form of MetalGreymon in the trees behind them, his head poking up above them. Lillymon and WereGarurumon then made their way out of the trees, the fairy moving over to help Tai with the honey haired girl.

"Yeah, are you guys alright?" He asked.

"We're fine," Mimi replied as she dusted off her dress. "Do you see Sora and the others anywhere?"

"I haven't seen them." WereGarurumon shook his head.

Matt looked around, trying to find something other than trees. He spied a wooden seat on the side of the path a ways down, but other than that, nothing. "I can't see them."

"Sora!" Tai cupped his hands over his mouth to project his voice and waited. There was no response.

"Maybe she and Izzy are too far away? MetalGreymon, your heads' up there above the trees, can you see MegaKabuterimon or Garudamon?" Matt asked.

"Well…" MetalGreymon looked down at his friends as he tried to figure out how to word what he needed to say. "I'm not even sure where _we_ are to be completely honest."

"What do you mean?" Tai looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.

"I can see buildings and other humans not too far away, some of them are looking at me. I think we're in the real world." He frowned, the entire situation was confusing him. One minute he was overwhelmed by Parasimon and the next he's looking at buildings over the tops of some trees and can see other humans.

"If that explosion brought us here, then maybe it brought Izzy and the others through too?" Matt suggested. A part of him knew he should be tearing the place down looking for Sora and Izzy, yet he felt cool and collected. After all, it's not like Tai hadn't been swept away by an explosion before.

"Maybe," Tai nodded, thinking along the same lines as Matt. It surprised him how normal being transported between the real and digital worlds felt after two years of inactivity. "Right now we've gotta figure out where we are so we can figure out how to help them. We're useless running around like headless chickens."

"Leave it to me!" Lillymon winked and flew up high above the tree tops.

"It's weird that we weren't brought out of a computer." Mimi noted, taking her first good look around and frowning.

"The same thing happened when MetalGreymon fought Etemon years ago. When we were transported back to the real world in the vortex it took us to Odaiba instead of the campgrounds." Tai said.

"You know, I'm getting a strange feeling about this park." Matt frowned.

"Strange feeling how?" Mimi asked.

"Like I know this park." He replied, putting his hand to his chin in thought. He definitely knew this place, he could feel the memory trying to surface but was only just off grasping it.

"The good news is that we're back in the human world," Lillymon said, touching down softly onto the footpath, "the bad news is that we're back in the human world in a place I don't recognise."

"Guess we'll have to take a look around then." Tai nodded.

" _Lightning Joust!"_

A blast of lightning burst from out of nowhere and struck right in the back of Lillymon. When it exploded, her body was sent careening down the footpath and out of sight into the trees. "Lillymon!" Mimi screamed and run after her as fast as her legs could carry her.

"What the hell was that?!" Matt asked, looking around frantically.

"Down there! What is that?" Matt looked down the path to where Tai was pointing and could vaguely see a shape of white and crimson rapidly approaching them.

"It's a Digimon," MetalGreymon answered, stepping out onto the path and damaging a few trees in the process. The trees weren't of concern to him now that Tai and Matt were in danger and his friend had been injured out of nowhere however.

"You two need to get back into the trees!" WereGarurumon ordered. With a nod, the two eighteen year olds complied and ran a ways into the trees so that they wouldn't be holding their partners back, but still close enough so that there weren't too many trees obscuring their view.

They waited with baited breath as the attacker drew closer and when he did he launched out into another attack.

" _Lightning Joust!"_ He cried. This time instead of the bolt of lightning that struck Lillymon, he thrust a long silver lance forward and it cackled with energy, kicking up dust as the attack followed through. WereGarurumon managed to dive and roll to the side and MetalGreymon took off into the sky.

"What's a Digimon doing in the real world?" Tai whispered. Matt shrugged.

WereGarurumon then leapt up onto MetalGreymon's shoulder, his powerful legs letting him make the clean jump. MetalGreymon pulled his mechanised left arm back. _"Giga Claw!"_ He called as he threw his arm forward, the clawed hand shooting out and piercing the ground where the knight had just been standing, it having managed to dodge out of the way before it hit.

"I could've sworn that hit him," Matt muttered, "just who is this guy?"

Tai made to shake his head until he remembered something. He reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out his orange Digivice and aimed it at the white knight as he brandished his decorated shield against one of WereGarurumon's kicks. "How does this thing… Oh!"

Tai blinked when a holographic screen appeared above the normal one displaying a picture of the white knight and information about him. "Gallantmon; Virus type mega level." He read.

"Virus type?" Matt repeated and Tai nodded.

"Yeah. It says his attacks are Lightning Joust, Spiral Saver, and Shield of the Just. He's an exalted knight Digimon that's said to be one of the thirteen Royal Knights."

"What's a Royal Knight?"

"Him, apparently." Tai put his Digivice back in his pocket. He cast quick glances down the path to see if he could see Mimi or Lillymon to no luck.

MetalGreymon had tried to refrain from attacking at his strongest so far, he didn't want to destroy the park fighting this Digimon but so far it was proving to be too powerful for his Giga Claw attack with that shield of his. WereGarurumon sped forwards towards his opponent, closing the distance in a matter of seconds, and when Gallantmon thrust his lance forward he ducked under it and hit him in the symbol on his chest with a fierce kick that he executed from the crouching position he'd found himself in.

Gallantmon slid back along the footpath a few meters but managed to keep his balance. MetalGreymon opened the ports on his chest and two organic fish-like missiles launched out and flew over WereGarurumon's head and scored a direct hit, kicking up dust.

"Bullseye, baby!" MetalGreymon cheered.

His celebration was short lived when Gallantmon's cape flung outwards and cleared the dust. He placed it back on his shoulder and raised his shield in front of his chest and it began to glow a brilliant white.

"What's he doing?" WereGarurumon asked, jumping backwards into a somersault and landing on MetalGreymon's shoulder.

"I'm sorry to have to do this to you," Gallantmon said, _"Shield of the Just!"_

A large beam of hot energy burst out from the shield and screamed down the footpath. WereGarurumon's eye's widened and he leapt off MetalGreymon's shoulder. The cyborg-dinosaur was too slow to dodge and the blast hit him dead on throwing him back, his large form crushing trees underneath it.

"MetalGreymon!" Tai whispered harshly, clenching his fist in frustration. They outnumbered Gallantmon, but he was a mega and two ultimates didn't stand a chance without either a great plan or a miracle.

WereGarurumon leapt at Gallantmon. In mid-air he brought his foot back and prepared to put as much energy as he could into it when he stopped abruptly. Eye-to-eye with Gallantmon, he had no idea what was going on and looked behind him to see a green rabbit-like android holding him in place.

"What now?" Matt spat under his breath, pulling out his digivice. "Rapidmon; vaccine type ultimate level. His attacks are Rapid Fire, Miracle Missile, and Tri Beam. Why are there so many digimon in the real world?"

"You've been a bad doggy, you know that?" Rapidmon giggled, still holding a struggling WereGarurumon in his grip.

"Let me go!" WereGarurumon ordered and Rapidmon shrugged. Before he knew it, WereGarurumon was looking down at the park from overhead and he swallowed, knowing what was coming and trying to brace himself as best he could.

"Since you asked so nicely!" Rapidmon threw WereGarurumon down and he crashed right into MetalGreymon who was trying to get back up, sending him right back down again and crushing the trees he hit previously even more.

"If we don't do something soon then they're gone, and these guys don't look like they're holding anything back." Tai growled. Yet again they'd been beaten because they couldn't reach the mega level. What was the point of Gennai giving them new and more powerful Digivices if they couldn't even reach mega anymore?

Gallantmon raised his shield and it brimmed with energy. Up in the air, Rapidmon put his feet together and stretched his arms out by either side, a green triangle appearing over his body and both attacks charged up, facing the helpless MetalGreymon and WereGarurumon.

" _Shield of the Just!"_

" _Tri-Beam!"_

" _Talisman Spell!"_

The two attacks hit the mark and Tai and Matt screamed out as dust, dirt, and bits of concrete were whipped up around them, both fearing for their Digimon partners' safety. The dust settled and both their jaws dropped when they saw a large yin-yang symbol in front of their groaning Digimon, now both reverted back to Koromon and Tsunomon. Behind the symbol Matt could see what looked to be a bipedal fox wearing robes and grumbled, pulling out his Digivice again.

"Who now…?" But before he could read the screen, a female's voice interrupted from behind him.

"Taomon; a data type ultimate level Digimon. She's on your side." Matt and Tai turned around and came face-to-face with a redheaded girl that looked to be a few years younger than them both standing beside a blue haired boy that seemed around her age and an apologetic look on his face, both dressed in school uniforms.

"That's well and good, but one of them is a mega." Tai noted.

"It's okay, they're on our side too, but they just don't know it yet." Mimi's voice from behind the two younger teens caught their attention and they both noticed her standing behind them with Lillymon for the first time, the fairy Digimon looking in good shape considering.

"Yeah, when those three idiots realise that this is some stupid misunderstanding then I can throttle them." The redhead muttered, leaving the trees and exiting onto the path, the blue haired boy following her. After watching the two walk over to the knight and android that was now landing, Tai and Matt turned down the path to look at Tsunomon and Koromon, both fraught with worry.

"Don't worry," Mimi said softly, placing a hand on each of their shoulders, "Lillymon and I will make sure they're okay, you two go find out what's happening."

After exchanging a worried glance and a brief nod, Tai and Matt turned and exited the trees, coming to see the redhead and blue haired teens from before alongside a brunet teen in a similar school uniform to the other teens, only with goggles around his neck, and two Digimon they'd never seen before as well as a Terriermon that was now climbing up onto the blue haired teen's head and giggling profusely.

"Are you dead in the head?! Taking on three ultimates that could have overwhelmed you?" The redhead roared at the brunet and him – alongside Matt and Tai – winced and rubbed the back of his head nervously.

"S-sorry… I guess after yesterday I just got kinda caught up and wasn't thinking straight." He apologised.

"I know you can make goggleheaded decisions sometimes but did you even scan them to see their types or attacks before you rushed in?"

"W-well..."

"Relax," the blue haired boy put his hand on the redheads shoulder and she sighed.

"Look, not to interrupt the domestic going on here or whatever, but can someone explain what's going on here?" Matt interjected before the argument could spark up again.

"I'd like to know why your Digimon attacked us, I was under the impression that all of the DigiDestined in Japan knew Lillymon, WereGarurumon and MetalGreymon." Tai added. The blue haired boy looked at him with a raised eyebrow and Tai matched his expression, only with both eyebrows raised. This kid sure did remind him of Izzy, even their hairstyle was similar.

"That's funny, we were about to ask you the same thing." Terriermon piped up.

"Is there somewhere else we can take this?" Mimi asked as she approached them with Lillymon and the two sleeping in-training level Digimon. She handed them to Matt and Tai and they held them both close to them as they stirred.

"Tai, did we win?" Koromon asked upon seeing the messy haired brunet.

"Did we, Matt?" Tsunomon added.

"Nah, you guys got the stuffing kicked out of you." Matt answered with a light chuckle.

The brunet looked at his two counterparts and they nodded to him, answering his unspoken question. "We know a place not far from here." He said and they turned to walk away. Matt and Tai watched in confusion as Lillymon dedigivolved and followed alongside Mimi without question.

Mimi turned back but didn't stop walking. "You two growing roots?" She asked.

The two males kicked into gear and jogged to catch up with her. Within a few minutes they'd ascended a stone staircase up to a small concrete utilitarian hut which was puzzlingly outfitted with a couch and futons. One of the unknown Digimon, a red dinosaur with a strange mark on his underbelly, approached them and sniffed both Koromon and Tsunomon.

"Wanna play tag?" He asked, his sharp toothed maw forming into a large smile. Tai couldn't help but smile at how childish that sounded, but still traded a worried glance with Matt. Before either one could say anything though Koromon and Tsunomon jumped out of their arms and chased after him. "Terriermon is it!" The dinosaur called out and the aforementioned Digimon ran out of the hut after them yelling incomprehensibly.

"Well, I guess they're only young." Tai noted as he entered the small hut past the metal bars. It wasn't strange for the lower Digimon to act fairly immature compared to at a higher level, and Koromon and Tsunomon could be as immature as it came. Well, next to DemiVeemon anyways.

"I suppose introductions are in order." The blue haired boy spoke up from his seat on the floor, the redhead standing against it beside him and the brunet beside her, though he looked a lot less lax than she did towards the whole situation.

Matt moved over to the worn couch figuring it was fair game and Mimi stood back in the entrance with Palmon, the plant Digimon digging her roots into the soil. Deciding that his role as leader was obviously being enforced by the silence coming from Matt and Mimi, Tai was the one to speak up.

"I'm Taichi Kamiya, but you can call me 'Tai'," he smiled. "The one lazing on your couch is Yamato Ishida, but you can just call him 'Matt'. He tends to cry when people call him by his full name." Matt looked up at Tai and scowled, making a mental note to punch him later. He didn't know why he let Tai handle the introductions, but now he definitely regret it.

"Last but not least," Tai began but Mimi decided she had other plans and walked completely into the room and right up to the redhead who straightened and blinked in surprise.

"I'm Mimi Tachikawa! Can I just say that you look _so_ gorgeous! Is your hair naturally that colour?" Tai reached forward and grabbed the back of Mimi's dress, pulling her backwards before she could bombard the visibly stunned girl with more questions. This didn't stop her though.

"Have you ever tried modelling before?" She asked.

"Oh no…" The redhead groaned and slapped her forehead, her two friends stifling their laughter.

"Did I say something wrong?" Mimi wondered. It was just an innocent question. The girl was gorgeous, she could be a star! Whichever of these boys was her boyfriend she knew was certainly a lucky guy.

"You'll find out one day, I'm sure." The blue haired teen answered with a wave of his hand. He then gestured at the brunet and he stepped forward.

"Oh, yeah! Anyways, I'm Takato Matsuki, and this is Henry Wong." Takato said. "This is Rika Nonaka. I'm also really sorry that we attacked your Digimon." He bowed.

"Water under the bridge. It's nice to meet you all." Mimi replied, a wide smile on her face.

"Now that introductions are out of the way," Matt piped up, "I'd like to know where we are? It's obvious you're Japanese, so where in Japan are we?"

"Shinjuku…?" Henry replied slowly. Shouldn't that have been common knowledge? After everything that had happened Shinjuku was pretty famous now. Or infamous depending on who you asked.

"Well, that explains why I remember this park then. Grandma used to bring T.K. and I out here a lot before she moved out into the country." He nodded.

"So if we left from Odaiba, then how did we get to Shinjuku?" Mimi pondered, twirling her bangs slowly with a finger.

"You're from Odaiba?" Takato asked.

"Sure am." Tai replied.

"I didn't know there were other kids in Tokyo with Digimon besides us." Henry frowned. Matt matched his expression. Things definitely weren't adding up here and for them to think they were the only three kids with Digimon was completely ridiculous but if they were playing some kind of joke on them what were they hoping to gain from it?

"Are they okay…?" Mimi whispered to Tai and he shrugged.

"O-kay so…" Rika said slowly. The situation was slowly becoming tenser as each of them slowly was coming to the same conclusion that things weren't adding up, though none of them could tell or figure out why.

"So… Hey! I've never seen your Digimon before, what kind are they?" Mimi decided it was up to her to recover the situation before it grew too uncomfortable for even her to handle and remembered the fox Digimon standing in the corner of the hut quietly.

Her blue eyes widened when Mimi pulled out her green D-Arc and pointed it towards her, and so did Henry's, albeit for a different reason to Renamon. "Renamon; data type rookie level." Mimi looked at Rika. "So she must be your partner then?" Rika nodded.

"I haven't seen a rookie level so big before." She looked outside at the red dinosaur chasing down Koromon and Tsunomon with the Terriermon on his head shouting out commands. "Well, except for him…" She noted, pointing her Digivice at him. She puffed out her cheeks when nothing came up except a picture of him. Tai, looking over her shoulder as he too was curious as to what these Digimon were, raised an eyebrow.

"There's no data on him?" He voiced, turning back to the three younger teens.

If something felt off to Henry before, right now he was certain that there was something wrong with this situation. These guys should've known who Guilmon was at least. There's no way they could've gone the last six years without hearing about the Tamers at least once. Better yet, where had _they_ been yesterday and during the D-Reaper? They certainly hadn't come here to fight yesterday if they didn't even know they were in Shinjuku.

"Well that's because he's one of a kind." Takato answered proudly, his crimson eyes lighting up alongside his smile.

"You okay?" Matt's question jolted Henry from his trance-like state and he nodded quickly.

"Actually," he decided, "I have a question if you three don't mind?"

Tai, Matt, and Mimi exchanged a look and Tai shrugged. "Sure," he replied.

"Do any of you know what the D-Reaper is?" Rika shot Henry a glare and furrowed her brow but he didn't look at her, instead he waited for someone to reply to him.

"Uh… Sounds like an evil cereal if you ask me." Matt replied, shrugging at Mimi who looked to him and Tai quizzically. He'd never heard of anything of the sort before and was sure they hadn't either.

"What are you getting at, Brainiac?" Rika butt in, pushing herself off the wall and turning to face him. Renamon watched the scene with interest, things were definitely getting more and more confusing the longer they all talked and to say it interested her now was certainly an understatement.

"Wait, so none of you remember the D-Reaper? We fought it years ago, sure, but you couldn't have just forgotten so easily?" Takato asked, the fact that someone could've forgotten about that bothered him greatly. His hand tightened into a fist and he could feel himself getting mad at the rogue program all over again.

Matt narrowed his eyes. The longer this dragged out, the more suspicious he was becoming. It was clearly evident now that something was wrong here and he wanted to find out what. If only Izzy were here, he'd know what to say or do, right now though he wasn't and they'd have to figure it out themselves.

"So you guys don't know about VenomMyotismon, the Digimon who destroyed part of Odaiba six years ago?" Tai asked. His jaw dropped when they shook their heads.

"What about Apocalymon?" Mimi added. They shook their heads.

"Not even MaloMyotismon?" Matt added. Again, they shook their heads.

"Something isn't right here." Henry closed his eyes and brought his hand to his chin as he always did when he was in deep thought.

"You can say that again." Matt sighed. Frowning, he looked at Tai who was mirroring his expression.

"What do you think, Henry?" Takato asked, roping Henry from his thoughts.

"I'd like to talk to my Dad or someone at Hypnos. Right now this is just all too confusing and I don't think we're going to get anywhere going around in circles like this. From the sounds of things we've both faced enemies the others don't remember, and on top of that for them to have not recognised our Digimon makes it even weirder. I have one theory but I want to confirm it first if at all possible." He answered.

Guilmon chose this moment to walk into the hut, the sounds of Terriermon giggling along with Tsunomon, Koromon, and now Palmon ringing in the air. "Takato!" He cried happily, "Koromon and Tsunomon are so fun to play with! Can we play with them again some other day too?"

"Uh…" Takato mumbled, leaning down to scratch his head. He wasn't sure what to tell him, he wasn't even sure what was going on himself right now. Wrapping his head around everything from yesterday and now today was certainly doing a number on him that was for sure.

"Sure you can, little buddy!" Tai answered. Takato smiled when Guilmon's tail happily thumped against the ground and Mimi approached him. She crouched down to his level and pet his head, noting how much he seemed like a puppy and how his scales weren't rough like she expected, rather hard and smooth.

"It's hard to imagine that this sweet thing becomes Gallantmon." Mimi smiled, she could already feel herself getting attached to him. She absolutely adored cute things – as evident from the amount of stuffed animals she had waiting to be placed around her room back home – and Guilmon sure was doing a number on her emotions right now. She stood up and walked a few paces away before she squealed in delight. Last thing she wanted was to make Palmon jealous as well.

Takato frowned. The sentence brought up a horrible memory in his mind and he shook it clear. When he opened his eyes and saw Rika was looking at him from the corner of hers. She gave him a wan smile, knowing exactly what was going through his mind, the same thing had gone through hers too.

"Yeah, it is a big stretch." Rika replied, covering for Takato.

"Do your Digimon reach the mega level?" Takato recovered, deviating the topic from Guilmon.

"Yeah," Matt nodded, "Tsunomon is MetalGarurumon."

"And Koromon is WarGreymon." Tai gave them a thumbs up.

"What about Palmon?" Rika asked Mimi but she frowned and shook her head.

"No, the rest of us aren't lucky enough to be able to reach the mega level." She poked her tongue out at Matt and Tai, the latter just threw his hands behind his head and smiled goofily at her.

"Hey, it's not our fault we're the loved ones who got shot by arrows of Hope and Light." He laughed.

"Or Davis and Ken." Matt added.

"The rest of you?" Henry repeated. "There's more than just you three in your group?"

"Yeah, there's twelve of us." Mimi nodded. "Of course there's me, then there's Tai, and Matt, Izzy, Sora, Joe, and Tai's and Matt's younger siblings Kari and T.K."

"Then in the younger group there's Davis, Ken, Yolei, and Cody. Not to mention the others around the world." Tai finished, prompting Henry to revert back into his thinking pose once again.

"That sure is a lot of people…" Rika mumbled, also picking up on the last part, knowing Takato did too from the fact that his lips tugged downwards slightly.

"What about you guys? Is there anyone else in your group?" Mimi asked, clasping her hands together in excitement. If there was one thing she loved other than shopping, and cute things, then it was meeting new people. She was never afraid to talk to new people and could hold a conversation for hours.

Hours.

She got no answer at first and grew a little nervous when they didn't seem like they were going to answer her. She let lose a small sigh of relief when Takato decided to answer her after all.

"It's just the three of us nowadays… Something, happened, a few years ago and we've kinda fallen apart since then. Ai and Mako are really young, and so is Suzie. Kenta and Jeri's families moved away to different parts of Japan, and to put the icing on the cake Ryo's been missing for a very long time."

Matt sat up straight. "Ryo?" He quickly shook his head. He was just reacting to a name he hadn't heard in a long time. There was no way it could be the same Ryo, it was a popular name in Japan. Besides, Ryo's dead. There was just no way he could've survived.

"You know him?" Takato asked, hope in his voice. There was no way no-one couldn't have known the Digimon King and Legendary Tamer. If they knew Ryo, that would at least bring some sense into the world again.

"No." Tai replied, his voice stern.

"We _used_ to know someone named Ryo, but he's uh…" Mimi grimaced, this was not a topic she enjoyed and certainly not something she'd wanted to think about. She'd always been touchy since… No, she couldn't think about that right now, overwhelming herself in front of three strangers and their Digimon was not something she wanted to do, especially since Tai and Matt didn't know.

"He passed away." Matt answered.

"Oh… I'm sorry." Takato inclined his head. He felt sick to his stomach. He'd only wanted to try and make sense of something and instead he seemed to have only made them relive something terrible.

"It's okay, he just… Wasn't happy with us before he parted is all." Tai smiled weakly. He needed to get them away from this topic, it was only adding salt to old wounds and from the look on Mimi's face she wasn't feeling especially good about the current conversation. Luckily, Matt came through as their saving grace.

"Say," the blond said, catching everyone's attention, "I've been meaning to ask you Takato, but what's with the goggles?" He nudged Tai and pointed at Takato's neck, both boys erupting into furious fits of laughter upon seeing the yellow rimmed accessory.

Takato blushed and looked down at his goggles and took them in his hands, frowning. What was so bad about them? Sure they looked a little strange with his black tie, but they were symbolic and important to him. Practical too, he could use them to enter a Digital Field unburdened, though he guessed that somehow they didn't know that.

"No way! I hadn't - even noticed them!" Tai managed to get out between breaths, using Matt's shoulder as support to stand.

Rika growled. For some reason she was feeling anger well up inside her. It was _her_ thing to pick on Takato for his goggles, and these people who didn't even know him were laughing at him for them. Sure, she'd judged him for wearing them when they first met – and still did – but like they had the right after that whole upsetting moment?

"Cut it out you two." Mimi chided, settling the older teens down a little too muffled giggles. "They aren't laughing because you're wearing goggles, Takato, they're laughing because Tai used to wear goggles too." Rika's eyes widened. Takato wasn't the only one?

"Up until I passed them down to Davis when his broke." Tai gave them another thumbs up and Rika sighed. If there was anything she knew from her mother working in the fashion industry, it's that if these goggleheads kept passing their damned goggles down to one another then it'd eventually become a ridiculous fashion statement.

"Now that I think about it, you actually resemble Tai a little." Matt pointed out and Mimi moved so she could see the two of them from his point of view. A huge smile busted out on her face. "Though Tai's is way more outrageous, they both have the shaggy brown hair." He continued.

As if to further prove their point, both teens laughed awkwardly and scratched the backs of their necks. They both noticed after glancing at one another and turned away, laughing harder than before. Mimi watched Tai and smiled, he could always seem like such a little kid, it was a quality that had lightened the mood through some tough times in the past and as much as it could annoy her she was grateful for it and knew the others had been too in those times.

She turned to see if Matt was sharing in the sudden joy around the room and grew a little concerned when she found he wasn't. "Are you okay?" She asked softly so as not to draw attention to them.

He nodded. "Just worried about Sora." He replied.

"And Izzy?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Of course. Garudamon and MegaKabuterimon are strong, but if they're still in the Digital World and not here then they could be facing the Parasimon alone."

"I'm sure they're fine Matt, we'll figure something out." Mimi pat him on the back and gave him the best smile she could muster. Inside though, something within the honey haired beauty was stirring. An inkling of a feeling that what she had initially thought was, actually wasn't. She'd definitely have to do something about it.

"If it's not too much trouble, can I ask a favour of you all?" Henry asked, his voice sounding out for the first time in quite some time now.

"What do you need?" Tai asked.

"The three of us are supposed to go to this meeting later tonight, but in light of recent events I think we should go now. I think these people may be able to confirm my theory from earlier and it would really help if you three came along with your Digimon."

"Uh, okay, I guess there's no harm in that." Tai replied with a small shrug. "Where are we going?"

"Nowhere important, just a formerly evil government organisation that once tried to destroy the Digital World." Rika spat. Tai raised an eyebrow in concern. He'd definitely never heard of an evil organisation run by the government before, let alone one that once acted against the Digital World.

"Okay, so where are we really going?" He probed.

"Sadly, she's not joking." Takato sighed.

The three DigiDestined traded concerned glances. Things definitely were strange today, no two ways about it.

* * *

 _ **Somewhere in Tokyo**_

He slammed his fists down on his keyboard, some of the keys coming loose and flying across the room, others falling uselessly on the desk. His eyes darkened as he focused on his computer screen at the six new figures that had appeared today. Three humans and three abominations. At first he'd hoped they'd destroy each other when he saw them fighting, but of course he'd have no such luck.

No. After they stripped everything from him, his only stroke of luck had been his store growing more successful. Selling merchandise to do with those _abominations_ so that he could fund his efforts to destroy them.

It was almost poetic.

These new Tamers didn't matter. He'd simply destroy them too. If they were partnered with an abomination then they'd die. This didn't change his plans at all, it just pushed them back. He'd been so patient for five long years, he could wait longer. They hadn't died when the abominations invaded yesterday and they hadn't even gotten injured in their scrimmage today. They'd taken out their enemies and alleviated a hostile situation with their usual resourcefulness, but they'd slip up against him.

He was confident.

They'd taken out abomination after abomination without a care for the collateral damage they caused and in doing so had taken everything from him. So he'd take it all from them. It was only a matter of time before the threads of their disgusting existences were dangling from the palms of his hands.

He'd show them pain.

He'd show them despair.

He'd show them _no_ mercy.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** _ **Phew, alrighty, that's done for now! Time for a doozy of an author's note here:**_

 _ **Almost didn't get this chapter to sit right with me and I spent quite a while trying to get it to all slide into place with the dialogue-heavy part in the middle there with the DigiDestined. The next chapter is going to be pretty similar with a lot of talking involved – so be prepared – but don't worry because there's also a nice little surprise. The chapter after that will also have a bit of talking in it to smooth some things over from this and the next one. Originally it was all in one big piece but as I began writing and this one reached the 7,000+ words mark I decided to break it up into three chapters.**_

 _ **Right now the story sits at 58,251 words in its entirety excluding author's notes and chapter names. All in all it spans 102 pages, which is already more than I ever wrote in my previous stories under my old account! You'll have to excuse me if I celebrate a little to myself a little as somewhere mixed around with all the mistakes I miss when proof-reading and whatnot I've hit a massive wellspring of pride and inspiration for this story.**_

 _ **Anyways, a lot of things were addressed here, some are pretty subtle, and others are right there in your face. Does Henry know what's going on? Who's the mysterious one who has a vendetta against the Tamers? Where in the worlds are Izzy, Sora, Garudamon, and MegaKabuterimon? Will Terriermon ever learn to shut his mouth? Doubtful. What else will the Tamers and the DigiDestined find out about each other? Just what is sweet little Mimi scheming and what do Tai and Matt not know about?**_

 _ **Damn, some of those questions won't even be answered in this Act!**_

 _ **Guess you'll have to wait. For those who are interested, there are a few future story arcs actually hidden in this chapter and the past few. Don't read too much into everything though, things you think may be future arcs are actually just there to throw you off for those who've been paying attention.**_

 _ **Enjoy that thought and thanks to all those who are reading, and an even bigger thanks to those who are reviewing, favoriting, and following. It's been really great in keeping me on top of planning and writing the story and I rather enjoy messaging each of you afterwards!**_


	9. Bodies from the Fog - Part Two

_**Tales of the Tamers: Act 01  
Chapter 08: Bodies from the Fog (Part Two)**_

* * *

 _ **Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building**_

It was definitely too late to go back to school, that much was for sure. A day that had seemed so ordinary had now taken a course much like the previous, and Takato, Rika, and Henry along with Guilmon, Renamon, and Terriermon were once again thrown into confusion as events that were out of their control took place. The entire thing just kept throwing more and more questions at him, and Takato would be lying if he said he wasn't a little overwhelmed with everything so far.

He looked at the current questions plaguing his mind; the three teens that weren't even that much older than him that he and Guilmon attacked in Shinjuku Park no more than two hours ago. Wild brown haired Tai Kamiya and his small pink Digimon partner Koromon; Blond haired Matt Ishida and his small orange partner Tsunomon, equipped with a spike jutting out of his forehead; and last but not least the honey haired Mimi Tachikawa and her vegetative partner with a vibrant plant for hair, Palmon.

They sure were an odd looking bunch, but he figured that anyone who looked at him and his friends from their own outside point-of-view that they'd sure think he looked weird too. He relaxed back into the black leather couch in the lobby of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, there was no sense in worrying about it. That's why they were here, after all.

Though, it wasn't really like he could bring himself to _do_ anything else.

Rika sighed, this day was dragging on longer and longer and to make matters worse, she was in the absolute _last_ place in Tokyo she'd want to be in. She looked across at the black leather couch that sat opposite to the one she was sat on at the three new arrivals. The one with the honey hair – Mimi, wasn't it? – was staring at her.

"Are you okay?" She asked, tilting her head.

Rika blinked, she must've been staring back at her for too long and with the angered expression she knew she was wearing she'd probably sparked her interest. Mimi seemed very… open.

"I'm fine." She replied dismissively, there was no use talking about it. If the events of today were to be used as an example there's no way she'd understand what was going on and Rika didn't want to be the one to bother explaining it.

"Are you sure, it really helps to talk about things you know?" Mimi wasn't going to give up, was she?

"It's nothing, I'm fine." Rika insisted.

"Rika's okay, don't worry about her," Henry interjected. Of course Rika wasn't fine, but she was too stubborn to talk about it, so he knew it was up to him to take over before Mimi said a few words too many and pissed Rika off. "This place just doesn't bring out the fondest memories."

"You mentioned something earlier that's been bothering me." Matt sat up and leaned forward, propping his elbows on his knees. "You said something about an evil government organisation that tried to destroy the Digital World. What's that about?"

"Yep! All fear 'Yamaki the Deleter'!" Terriermon quipped, prompting Henry to groan.

"Yamaki the Deleter?" Guilmon repeated. Henry sighed.

"On the higher levels of this building is a secret government organisation called Hypnos. Its original purpose was to monitor criminal activity on the internet, but when Digimon began materialising here in the real world, then they kind of fell under their jurisdiction after discovering their data based origins." He explained.

"Technically no-one is supposed to know about it, but everyone already knows they exist anyways…" Takato added.

"Sounds complicated," Tai nodded.

"In a sense," Henry agreed.

"Too bad they were useless at doing their own job." Terriermon laughed. This time Henry just ignored his comment.

"For once I actually agree with the bunny." Rika muttered, folding her arms across her chest and crossing one leg over the other. This whole mess was shaping up to be one big nuisance, to make matters worse she'd even agreed with Terriermon about something. Hell was sure to freeze over. She could feel it in her bones.

"But things aren't like that now." Henry added, bringing the attention back to the story. "After a bunch of failed attempts at destroying them, the director of Hypnos, Mitsuo Yamaki, realised we were the only ones who could really deal with the Digimon coming through and he aided us during our fight with D-Reaper."

"So what's the big problem then?" Tsunomon asked, not having heard anything particularly bad yet. To him it just kind of sounded like the story of the Digimon Emperor, only with a government organisation and not an evil genius.

"To combat D-Reaper, Yamaki and a group of adults called the Monster Makers loaded a program into Terriermon that would revert it back to a harmless state. However, the program meant that we Digimon also had to return to the Digital World, or face deletion." Renamon said.

"They did all this without telling any of us. We thought the program would just defeat the D-Reaper, we didn't know the truth until it was already happening." Takato added.

"My dad was one of the Monster Makers and for the longest time I held it against him. Eventually I got past it and our Digimon returned." Henry said. He felt like he needed to add more to it, he knew now it had been for the greater good and didn't want anyone going into this with any bias opinions of anyone, he preferred if people made their own decisions about others.

"At least your Digimon came back." Tai smiled and Takato nodded.

"So how did the Digimon attack the real world?" Matt asked. Sure, he definitely wasn't as smart as Izzy, but he was sure that even Davis could tell that something was up right now and he was going to get as much information as he possibly could.

"Digimon come through this fog that we call a Digital Field generated by the Earth's natural magnetic field, it converts data into false proteins and allows the Digimon to take a physical form in the real world." Henry enlightened. Matt just frowned, now he was lost. He guessed he'd just have to wait and see what this meeting entailed.

Luckily for him he didn't have to wait long as a young woman with short brown hair dressed in a business shirt and a dark pencil skirt approached them with a warm smile on her face. "Mr. Yamaki will see you now, if you'll follow me to the elevators, please." She led the group up a set of stairs to the left and over to a pair of elevators.

Tai found it strange that she wasn't even taking a second glance at the Digimon with them, particularly Palmon, Guilmon, Terriermon, and Renamon, but chose to ignore it. She just must've been accustomed to seeing them or had known about them previously. When the elevator opened up he entered alongside everyone else and rode it up to the thirtieth floor. Upon arrival they exited into a lobby with a blonde haired woman in a black dress sitting behind a desk with a blond haired man in a suit and wearing sunglasses waiting in the centre of a room, his left hand in his jacket pocket.

"Sunglasses inside? Ew…" Mimi muttered.

"I know right?" Palmon agreed.

"I'm going to ignore that statement." The blond haired man announced and both Tai and Matt turned and shot Mimi a warning look and she gave them an innocent smile and shied away, gripping Palmon in her arms a little tighter. The last thing they needed right now was for Mimi to annoy the big government official.

"I assume you've called upon me for a good reason instead of waiting for the meeting that was scheduled for tonight." Yamaki stated, gazing across the teenager before him under his shades.

"We attacked some new friends!" Terriermon exclaimed, beating his chest once with a tiny paw.

"What he meant was, we got to an emergence today and ran into these guys." Takato stated.

"I can see that," Yamaki nodded, "follow me." With his command, they followed him down a hallway and eventually entered a room with a long round table, ten chairs placed around it and a screen mounted to the wall at one end. The wall opposite to the doorway was made up of windows that stretched from the floor to the ceiling, giving everyone a view of the busy city.

The group of humans took seats around the table, Yamaki at the head of it with two empty seats by his side. Renamon and Guilmon stood next to their Tamers, both choosing not to sit due to their tails making it awkward with the solid backs of the chairs. Terriermon kept his usual space on Henry's head while Koromon, Tsunomon, and Palmon sat in their partner's laps. As they all settled in two older men entered the room and sat on either side of Yamaki. The first was a man with a large beard, the Tamers knowing him as Goru Mizuno aka Shibumi. The other was a tall man with blue hair, wearing a pair of glasses and a lab coat, Henry's father Janyuu Wong aka Tao.

"Henry, shouldn't you be in school?" Janyuu asked his son.

"Sorry Dad, but as you can see, something came up that seems pretty important." Seeing the expression on his son's face and also noticing the three new teenagers with Digimon sitting in their laps, he opted to drop the subject. Henry wouldn't be getting off that easy though.

Tai and Matt exchanged a look between each other, figuring out that the man was Henry's father. It seemed like pretty much everyone knew about Digimon here. They'd walked freely through the streets and other than some people avoiding their path, no-one particularly made any comment about monsters attacking them and no-one screamed and ran for their life. So far it seemed like everyone was used to seeing them around and chose to just ignore it.

Their attention was caught by the man with the beard letting out a long whistle. "Just when you think you've seen it all. My name is Goru Mizuno, but you can call me Shibumi." He smiled. "This is my old friend Janyuu, I like to call him Tao though." Janyuu inclined his head.

"Alright, now that pleasantries are done with, how about you explain to me just how there are three teenagers in front of me that have Digimon and we've never seen or heard from them before now." Yamaki asked, though his question sounded more like a command to everyone in the room. Those who knew Yamaki knew it was a command anyway though.

"We got a bioemergence warning when we were at school today," Takato began.

"When we got there these guys were there with their Digimon." Henry finished.

"I like the part where you left out me and Guilmon whipping them back a week!" Terriermon laughed.

"Hey!" Koromon and Tsunomon cried out in unison.

"Ignoring that statement," Yamaki groaned, pushing his sunglasses up onto the bridge of his nose properly, "who are you three?" He turned to look at the three new teens.

"I'm Taichi Kamiya, this is Yamato Ishida, and that's Mimi Tachikawa." Tai stood up and bowed. He then sat back down and Yamaki brought his hand up to his ear.

"Riley." He said with authority. "Search for anything you can find on the following teenagers: Taichi Kamiya, Yamato Ishida, and Mimi Tachikawa… Thank you." He nodded to himself and brought his hand down.

"Now," he looked to the Tamers, "you're telling me there was no wild Digimon at the emergence site? We got some unusual readings from it." His tone was almost one of disbelief. The readings Hypnos' systems had picked up had been different from ever before, so managing to squeeze out ever last detail he could was essential. Besides, Yamaki wasn't one to half-arse a job.

Takato shook his head. "Guilmon and I were the first ones there and there was no Digimon besides theirs."

"The past two days sure has given us quite a lot of questions and little to no answers." Shibumi laughed. He leaned on the back legs of his chair carelessly, a carefree smile placed on his face.

"Yeah, though admittedly I'm not glad to be back behind a desk at Hypnos because of something that potentially blow up and become another situation akin to that of D-Reaper." Janyuu sighed, taking a quick glance across the city and remembering the large mass of the rogue program. He readjusted his glasses to sit properly on his face.

Yamaki raised his hand to his ear again. "Hmmm…" He muttered, then he looked up to Tai. "Do you remember what you were doing before you appeared here?"

Tai nodded. "Yeah, we were in the Digital World alongside our friends fighting some evil Digimon, then this huge vortex came out of nowhere and the next thing we knew we were all here."

Matt whirled to face Tai and narrowed his eyes. "Not _all_ of us are here, Tai. Sora and Izzy are still out there somewhere." He growled.

"Pull yourself together, _Matt_ , you know what I meant." Tai responded in kind. Was it just him, or did Matt seem more irritable lately?

"Cool it, you guys." Mimi sighed. Without Sora here it was up to her to diffuse the situation between the two _children_. She was surprised, usually she'd be involved in the arguments as well, but without the matronly Sora _someone_ had to pick up the slack. _'God forbid it be up to Tai or Matt to be matronly… Big brother figures? Sure. Sensible and rational at every possible moment? Not a chance.'_

"Please." Shibumi added, righting himself on the chair. "You mentioned a vortex. Do you know how it appeared or what made it explode?" He asked.

"I'm not sure," Tai replied, "one minute we were fighting Parasimon, the next we were here."

Rika stood up out of her chair, the force of her action sending it to the ground. "You were fighting Parasimon?!"

"Yeah, have you seen them before?" Matt asked, perhaps now something would start to make sense. So far neither of them remembered the other fighting anyone, if they could just get one common enemy then at least _something_ would make sense.

"Seen them? An entire swarm of them invaded Tokyo yesterday!" Takato replied, Rika picking her chair up and sitting back down in it. This time she sat forward though, now interested in where things were going.

"Yeah, but we showed them, didn't we, Takato?" Guilmon smiled. Takato nodded.

"So just to recap; you were fighting Parasimon, then a vortex exploded and the next thing you know you're here. While yesterday Parasimon invaded Tokyo through a giant vortex-like Digital Zone in the sky above downtown." Shibumi fingered his lip tersely.

"And two of your friends are missing?" Janyuu asked, turning to Matt who nodded.

"Their Digimon too." He added.

"Let's add this into the equation then." Yamaki stood up and faced Tai, Matt, and Mimi. "None of you exist." He simply said.

"What are you trying to say?" Matt asked, narrowing his eyes. Didn't exist? He was as real as they came, what did this big-shot know that they didn't?

"What I'm saying is that Taichi Kamiya, Yamato Ishida, and Mimi Tachikawa don't exist in this day and age. No medical or dental records. No birth certificates. No records of schooling. Nothing." Yamaki took his sunglasses off and placed them in his pocket, his blue eyes staring hard at them. Yamaki didn't like the unknown, and this was beginning to irk him to no end. The meeting was supposed to be about yesterday's events, and now it seemed like much more.

"So you're saying we're lying?" Matt clenched his fist but Tai placed a hand on his shoulder and shook his head.

"Yeah, what _do_ you mean, Yamaki?" Rika asked, narrowing her eyes at the older man.

"Cool off, everyone. I think we should look at them like Hypnos." Shibumi stood up and raised his hands in a placating gesture.

Mimi let her head fall onto the desk with a thud. "Now I'm even more lost…" She moaned.

"Let me explain; Hypnos is an organisation that doesn't exist, yet the public has seen it operate and knows all about it. It's just like you three. We can see you and physically interact with you, the only reason there's no record of you is because you don't exist in this universe."

"So you expect us to believe they're from another universe?" Rika raised her eyebrows.

"It's the conclusion I came to earlier as well." Henry nodded. "Think about it. We don't have a single clue about any enemies the other has faced. They said they fought a MaloMyotismon just two years ago, but other than Parasimon yesterday, our last enemy was D-Reaper a total of five years ago."

"There's a theory that I've always loved to speculate upon sometimes. It's called the Multiverse Theorem. It's basically the belief that there is an infinite number of universes out there that span and reach an infinite number of possibilities." Janyuu added, clapping his hands together and barely managing to contain the excitement in his voice.

"As _irrational_ as it seems, I really don't see any other rational explanation _for_ it." Henry sighed and rubbed his temples. He was glad his father didn't start running his mouth and go off on a tangent, Henry had been caught in one of those multiverse theory explanations before and it lasted hours.

"Another universe, eh? That's cool!" Tai smiled and Koromon bounced up onto his head.

"Tai, this kinda thing always happens."

"You seem strangely okay with this?" Takato looked at Tai and he shrugged.

"It wouldn't be the first time one of us has been taken to another world. Explosions seem to be the way to do it with Koromon and me." He laughed.

"Alright but we're missing the main problem here!" Matt raised his voice. He was sick of Tai not worrying about the more important issues here. There were bigger things for them to deal with right now and he's making jokes?

Tai looked at Matt sidelong. "Just what is the point then?"

"Sora, Izzy, Biyomon, and Tentomon could still be stuck in the Digital World or they could even be in an entirely different universe right now!"

"Yeah, they could be. So acting the way you're acting isn't going to get us anywhere! We agreed before in the park that we needed to figure out things on our end first before we could find them!"

"Sometimes I think you two argue just for the sake of it!" Mimi interrupted, getting out of her seat and stepping between the two of them, Palmon jumping from her lap and standing on the table.

"There could be something we could do about that." Shibumi said, pushing his chair back and standing up. "Tao, can you join me? I'm going to need two minds for this one." Janyuu nodded and the two exited the room. Before any conversation – or argument – could resume, Shibumi ducked his head back into the room. "Uh, we're going to need all the reports and scans from yesterday and today."

Yamaki nodded. "I'll send word ahead to Tally to retrieve the data and deliver it to you."

"To be completely honest with you, I'm still finding this whole thing confusing and hard to believe…" Takato sighed.

"No surprise there," Rika chimed, a smirk playing on her lips.

"You and me both," Mimi agreed with Takato, resigning back to her seat once she was sure Tai and Matt weren't going to start back up again.

"Whether we believe it or not is irrelevant at this point in time. The fact is we have three people that don't exist partnered with Digimon that claim to have fought against the same enemy that attacked Tokyo yesterday. We have new questions now and all we can really do is speculate upon possibilities." Yamaki stated. He didn't like the direction this turn of events was taking, but for now he knew there wasn't much he could do. Besides, it seemed like it was beginning to fall out of Hypnos' jurisdictions anyhow. They were meant for monitoring criminal activity and dealing with digital anomalies when they arose, not dealing with trans-dimensional problems.

"Maybe it was the Digital World?" Guilmon suggested and Takato's eyes lit up.

"Hey, yeah! Maybe the Digital World is in danger again and it needs our help! That could be why Parasimon and Locomon were able to get through yesterday and why these guys are here now!" He exclaimed and a memory surfaced in Tai's mind.

"Takato and Guilmon may actually be right." He said, Henry and Rika raising their eyebrows at him and Terriermon feigning a choking sound. He looked to Matt and Mimi. "Remember when we were called to the Digi-World? We were told specifically that something was going wrong."

"Hey, you're right." Palmon nodded.

"But I don't think the sovereign would send an army of bugs at us as a warning." Rika said.

"I wouldn't put it past Zhuquaiomon!" Terriermon said in a sing-song voice.

"Or Azulongmon," Matt snorted, "he can be too cryptic sometimes. Either that or he just doesn't tell you outright what's going down."

"You know ol' big blue and godly?" Terriermon asked.

"Yeah, when we were twelve we actually gave up the power that let our Digimon digivolve to the ultimate level to free the Sovereign Digimon." Tai pulled his crest out from underneath his shirt and the orange sun-like symbol glinted.

"We were given them back when we were called to the Digital World though." Mimi smiled, her and Matt pulling out their crests too.

Takato looked over them in wonder, to him they all looked so cool. Henry however was thinking more on their words. They didn't use the power of blue cards and instead used crests? The way their world worked seemed to be so different to theirs, and how many other differences were there? The more he thought, the more questions he gained with little to no answers. That seemed to be the pattern today.

"How do you know the Sovereign?" Mimi asked.

"Zhuquaiomon sent his lackeys to try and kill us and Azulongmon stopped him." Rika explained, then Renamon stepped forward.

"Zhuquaiomon isn't known for his love of humans. He believes that we Digimon don't need human partners to defend our world from problems." She explains and Koromon and Tsunomon jumped up onto the table.

"But our world would've been destroyed so many times without Matt and the others!" Tsunomon exclaimed. The thought of one of the sovereign being so blinded admittedly angered the little Digimon.

"Remind me not to pick a fight with Zhuquaiomon…" Tai grumbled. Matt and Mimi nodded.

"So it's obvious that we've all met the Sovereign Digimon, but on the basis that we're from two different worlds, who's to say we don't have two different Digital Worlds instead of one interconnecting one? It's entirely possible that there could be multiple sets of the same Sovereign that have different personalities." Henry folded his arms across his chest and closed his eyes to prevent himself from going off on another tangent. When he opened them again it seemed that everyone was thinking just as hard as he was, even Yamaki.

"Ugh, Izzy is way better at this stuff then me…" Tai yawned after a few moments of silence stretched out in the room.

All of a sudden, Guilmon crouched down on his haunches and began to growl, his eyes dilating as six Digivices began beeping in unison. Mimi pulled out her green Digivice and looked at Guilmon worriedly.

"What's wrong with him? And why is my Digivice beeping?" Her voice was tinged with worry.

"Your Digivice is reacting to a Digital Field." Yamaki explained, knowing from Janyuu that that's how the teenagers had always managed to find where the Digimon were when they were younger.

"Woah… Tai, I feel strange…" Koromon shuddered.

"What's wrong?" Tai asked, scooping him up into his arms.

"He's most likely sensing Digimon." Renamon noted.

"Well, that's what we were aiming for." Shibumi smiled as he entered the room.

"What's going on?" Yamaki questioned, pulling his sunglasses from his pocket and putting them back on.

"Come up to the roof and see for yourself. Hopefully the fruits of our labour are there." Janyuu exited the room, beckoning everyone after him and they all followed after Shibumi. When they reached the lobby and piled into the elevator, Yamaki instantly regret it.

"You know, maybe we all shouldn't have gotten into the _same_ elevator…" He growled, moving his torso so that someone's elbow wasn't prodding him.

"It'd be better if Renamon and Guilmon weren't so freakishly big for rookie levels!" Terriermon whined. Renamon huffed and turned her head away. "Can't you just disappear or whatever?" He complained.

"She still takes up physical space, idiot." Rika chided.

"Now, now, Tai's hair isn't much better." Mimi laughed, playfully nudging him in the ribs.

"Aw, come on…" Tai sighed, not bothering to shoot her the usual glare he did. Matt placed his hand on Tai's shoulder and nodded solemnly. Then Shibumi's head appeared from Tai's hair as it parted.

"Think of it as bonding between you all." He laughed.

"Then why must we be a part of it?" Yamaki rumbled.

The elevator doors opened up and they exited onto the walkway of the roof, the edges closed off by a fence to prevent people from falling off. A thick fog was blanketing the raised helipad above them and they made their way up as it began to settle.

Tai nervously chewed on his bottom lip, not knowing what to expect. When Mimi squealed and dashed into the fog with Palmon as it began to settle though, he began to notice some familiar forms. Two redheads, one male and one female, and two giant Digimon, one a bipedal eagle and the other a huge beetle.

"Izzy, do you know where we are?"

"I'd be lying if I said I did."

"Well that's just grea-wahhhh!"

Sora was taken back when the familiar form of Mimi leapt into her arms and embraced her tightly. "You two sure took your sweet time!" She heard Matt's voice call out and looked up to see him approaching with Tai, Tsunomon, and Koromon in tow.

"Tai, what's going on?" Izzy asked as the older teen came up beside him.

"Trust me, you're going to have a field day with this one." Tai smirked and Izzy noticed a blue haired teen that looked just younger than himself approach him, a Terriermon sitting on his head.

"Terriermon? But… you're not Willis?" Izzy mumbled.

"No, I'm not Willis." Henry replied, bowing his head. He didn't know who Willis was… "My name is Henry Wong. Long story short; you're in another world."

Izzy's jaw practically hit the floor – err, roof. He looked up at the smile on Tai's face and the knowing look in his eyes and he picked his jaw back up, a smile appearing on his face. He gazed up to the large form of MegaKabuterimon and the red beetle shrugged before dedigivolving back to Tentomon.

"If that's the case then I have a lot of questions for you. I'm Koushiro Izumi, the others call me Izzy." Izzy bowed. Tai was right, he was definitely going to have a field day with this. He'd never had the chance to do much study on worlds like the Dark Ocean or the realm that granted wishes, so he was sure to focus on this one while he could, after all, for the amount of alternate worlds they'd been thrown into, he'd never been to a world that wasn't digital.

"To catch you up, we're standing on the roof of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in another universe." Tai smiled, but it faded when he heard Biyomon's voice scream out.

"Sora!"

Tai, Izzy, and Henry turned around to see Sora collapsed on the ground, Biyomon, Mimi, Palmon, Matt, and Tsunomon gathered around her. Tai rushed forwards and slid down beside Mimi, not caring that he grazed his knee underneath his jeans.

"Is she okay?" He asked. "What happened?"

"I don't know, she just collapsed!" Matt replied.

"You were right here and you don't know what happened?!"

Mimi whacked them both on the back of the head. "Can it the both of you!" She ordered.

"The two of you aren't going to help Sora by arguing. Seriously, you'd think you two would know this by now." Izzy sighed and Janyuu approached the group.

He knelt down and brought the young redheads head into his lap, tilting her head to the side and placing his fingers to check for a pulse. He waited a few moments and then smiled up at her friends. "Her pulse is steady, she'll be fine. Best bet is that she's passed out."

"Someone go with Janyuu and Shibumi to take her to the infirmary." Yamaki commanded then turned to Shibumi. "Find out _why_ she passed out."

Mimi nudged Tai in the gut and then nodded her head towards Sora. Tai raised his eyebrow questioningly and blinked, having no clue what she was getting at. Why didn't she just use words like a normal person would?

"I'll take her." Matt scooped Sora up into his arms and walked after the two men, Tsunomon and Biyomon sticking to him closely. There were many things going on right now that she didn't understand – having just noticed the other humans with Digimon – but Biyomon's main concern right now was Sora.

"You have an infirmary in the building?" Rika asked, not turning to Yamaki as she spoke to him.

"Yes. We mostly use it for when people collapse due to overexertion on a shift or for minor accidents. National security is a rather stressful thing to maintain, Miss Nonaka."

Tai watched them enter the elevator and when it closed and began its descent he made to move forward, but a hand twisted up in the lapel of his orange overshirt and he was brought down to be nose-to-nose with Mimi, her honey eyes narrowed and her voice low. From his spot in Tai's arms Koromon was pressed into Mimi's stomach and he looked worriedly into Palmon's eyes so that she could hopefully answer him, but she just shrugged.

"You and I need to have a talk later, _Taichi_." Then with that, she smiled sweetly as if nothing had happened and walked away to join Takato and the others, bending down to pet Guilmon and chat with him and Palmon.

"What was that about, Tai?" Koromon looked up at him.

"I have absolutely no idea… I wish she'd stop saying my name like that though." He replied, heading over to join them cautiously.

"What was that about?" Henry asked Izzy, having seen the exchange between Tai and Mimi go down as it happened. She sure seemed like a loose cannon.

"Honestly, with Mimi it could've been anything. She can get angry every now and then, but from the look in her eyes Tai's done something." The redhead replied.

"If you ask me-…" Terriermon began but was cut off when Henry reached up and pulled him into his arms, covering his mouth with his hands.

"That's enough out of you for today." Henry said.

"I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that he can be quite the trouble maker?" Tentomon piped up, looking curiously at the struggling Digimon.

"Every waking moment," Henry sighed. "Still, I wouldn't trade him for the world."

"Well now that Sora is being cared for," Izzy turned to look at the city's skyline, "I'd like to get to my questions if you don't mind?"

"Actually, seeing as though you don't have anywhere to go tonight I was going to ask you if you and your partner would like to spend the night at my house? My brother is away at university so there'll be a spare room for you to use and I'm sure my Dad will be useful in answering your questions too."

"Sure, that'd be great! I hadn't even thought of what to do about sleeping arrangements tonight."

"That's okay, I feel like you're just as curious to find out about what's happening here as much as I am and you still don't know all that we do so far." Henry laughed and the two made their way over to the larger group where Yamaki was just crossing his arms over his chest.

"Alright, well it seems like we're done here for today. The longer you all stay around the more that goes wrong and that causes more paperwork to pile up on my desk." He sighed and readjusted his glasses. "It's going to take some time because Hypnos isn't some holiday planner, but I'm going to sort out what I can to get the new arrivals accommodation here in Shinjuku. For as long as you are here I'd like to keep you close. For now, you can all stay with the Tamers." Yamaki muttered the last part as he walked away. This was way out of the company's way, but it was preferable as opposed to leaving them to rot in the gutter.

"Well, leave us on the roof _and_ throw us under the bus, how chivalrous." Terriermon quipped, breaking free from Henry's grasp and climbing to his shoulder.

"Okay," Henry said, turning to face the amassed group, "I've already discussed with Izzy that he's coming to my house tonight. I'll fill him in on what I can and hopefully we can come up with some kind of answer alongside my Dad. Then we can all meet after we're done with school tomorrow." He looked at Takato and Rika wearing their school's uniform, remembering that they had practically ditched the entire day.

' _Can't make a habit of this…'_ he thought.

"Mimi and Palmon can stay at my house," Rika turned to the slightly older girl, "I doubt you'd want to stay with gogglehead." She jerked a thumb at Takato and smirked. Mimi smiled and nodded.

"If only Rumiko weren't away. I think they'd get along rather well." Renamon said and Rika sighed.

"Don't say that…"

"I guess that leaves you to deal with Koromon and me." Tai grinned goofily at Takato.

"That's okay with me. My Mum should be okay with it too as long as I promise not to be late to school tomorrow." Takato nodded, knowing exactly how his mother's train of thought would go. He looked down at Guilmon. "How about it, boy? Want to come home tonight?"

"Yeah! I can eat all of the bread!" The crimson dinosaur cheered.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves…"

"Henry!" Terriermon whined. How come the bread-snarfing doofus got to go home? Sure, he loved the concrete shed and the control he had over Guilmon inside, but it was pointless if he wasn't there. "I wanna come home too!"

"Relax," Henry replied coolly, looking up at him sitting on his head. "I've actually been talking it over with Suzie."

"Really?" Terriermon's eyes lit up.

"Mhm, she's missed giving you the Princess Pretty Pants makeover."

Terriermon gulped.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** _ **So that ends part two of 'Bodies from the Fog' and so the afternoon continues, moving on slowly towards the night. This section of the chapter was smaller than the first, and the next one should be about the same size.**_

 _ **For those who'll ask where Matt is, I've gotta apologise to the Taiora fans because he'll be staying at Hypnos with Sora. After all, it wouldn't be fun to wake up in a government building in another universe and have no clue what's going on. She'll need a friend there after all.**_

 _ **Our matchups for the night are;  
Rika, Renamon, Mimi, and Palmon  
Takato, Guilmon, Tai, and Agumon  
Matt, Tsunomon, Sora, Biyomon and Shibumi  
Henry, Terriermon, Izzy, Tentomon, and Janyuu**_

 _ **How's Terriermon going to handle being stuck with a bunch of nerds? What did Tai do to anger Mimi this time? Will Sora wake up, if so, when? What more are they going to discover about each other?**_

 _ **I'll be honest, I'll be glad to get the next chapter done and out of the way so that we can move on with more plot-related stuff and get into the exciting bits, but some of it will be pretty important later on so it's necessary to have in, as much as some of it doesn't seem that way. I'm going to try my best to skip re-explaining things that you as readers already know, but other than that, I hope you enjoy it.**_


	10. Bodies from the Fog - Part Three

**_Tales of the Tamers: Act 1  
Chapter 09: Bodies from the Fog (Part Three)_**

* * *

 ** _Wong Household_**

"So you're telling me that in this world, Digimon cross over the layers between the worlds – you call this a bioemergence – and you had to deal with them via deletion?" Izzy sat back from his laptop at the low table and grimaced.

To say that idea sat well with him was a blatant lie, but to say that he didn't understand that sometimes certain things needed to be done to protect the worlds was also a rather blatant lie. He and his friends had done the very same thing – though admittedly not as often – they understood that more than anyone else, not that it ever made it any easier. His expression deepened, even though the data of those they defeated and the friends they lost was reconfigured for them to be reborn in the Primary Village, the horror of losing friend after friend would forever stay in his mind. A reminder as to just why they kept on fighting.

Henry shifted his body to face Izzy and nodded. "Believe me, I don't like it either," he commented upon seeing the frown on Izzy's face.

"None of us do, but back then – and I guess again now – it's what's necessary to prevent widespread damage throughout the city," Janyuu spoke up from his seat at his desk. Typing away at his computer he only shared momentary glances at the two.

"Don't get me wrong, I understand the need to do what needs to be done. I've witnessed Tai and Matt have to make those kinds of decisions more time than I'd care to remember," Izzy delved into his pocket and retrieved his purple Digivice, studying it in his hand. "Back in our world though the kids in the younger generation with a different model Digivice to us could use them to open up a digi-gate so that we could send the harmless, confused ones back." He sat his Digivice in his lap and closed his laptop. He saw no need to be researching anything at this moment, he'd get what he could from Henry first.

"I'm afraid we don't have the ability to achieve anything like that just yet," said Janyuu, shaking his head.

"Most Digimon that come through don't exactly always have the best intentions anyway," said Henry. When Izzy raised an eyebrow he elaborated. "While some Digimon do come through because they want a Tamer – which is extremely rare – most come through with the belief that if they delete and absorb the data of a tamed Digimon they'll digivolve. Then there are those like the Devas that had come through to attack us under Zhuquaiomon's orders."

"Vikaralamon still gives me the shakes," and to prove that point Janyuu's body really did shake involuntarily.

Fearing that he already knew the answer, Izzy asked anyways. "Absorb the data?"

"A Digimon can absorb the data of a deleted Digimon, eventually once enough data is absorbed they'll digivolve. Our digimon can do it too, and we used to," the blue haired boy added darkly, "until we realised that it was the bonds between us and our partners that gave them their strength."

"That's horrible!" Tentomon interjected. Henry nodded solemnly.

"If Digimon operate that way here then that makes me wonder about the state of your Digital World." Izzy opened his laptop and it instantly booted up again. He typed away; bringing up all the information he had gathered over the years about the Digital World.

"You're assuming that our worlds have two separate Digital Worlds?" Janyuu's eyes widened incredulously, actually pausing in his typing for the moment when he turned in his chair.

"It makes sense, Dad. Think about it – if our worlds were interconnected through one Digital World, then D-Reaper would've attacked them too, don't you think?" Henry glowered at the unpleasant memories.

"This definitely changes things!" The older male exclaimed. He whirled back to his computer and resumed his typing more frantically then before and with an excited look on his face.

"You see," Izzy turned his laptop to face Henry so that he could see the neatly complied information on the screen. "In our world, the Digital World is an organic replica of our own. It has continents, islands, and for the most part it's a peaceful place. The only time that's really interrupted is when we're bothered by a prophecy or the forces of darkness decide that they want to try the whole 'I'm going to take over the worlds' shtick."

A frown tugged at Henry's lips as he spoke, "Here, the Digital World was built upon layers – levels, if you will – of data from the internet," he paused when Izzy began typing hurriedly in an effort to catalogue what he could. There was no way he was going to miss any of this. With a curt nod, he let the blue-haired boy continue. "Some levels can be really desolate whereas others can be vibrant and full of life. A lot of it is dangerous though, the Digimon there treat it as survival of the fittest.

"As I mentioned before about Digimon absorbing data, they do that there to anyone they defeat to get stronger as to not only digivolve, but also so that they come here. Despite everything, other than the Devas we have no idea _how_ they actually come through. Don't get me wrong though, it's not _all_ bad, there are Digimon there that are just as nice as you or me."

"A digital Sovereign that's a powerful Digimon rules over them and apparently does nothing to settle it," added Janyuu.

"I'm familiar with the Sovereign," Izzy nodded. "Though what Sovereign would willingly let their realm enter such a state in the first place?" From what he'd heard from Yolei in the past, the Sovereign were supposed to be guardians of the Digital World – much like the mythological beasts that presided over Kyoto – so upon hearing this he was visibly distressed. Perhaps they were meant to come here this entire time? That this world in its state is somehow affecting their world? If the Digital World and real world could affect each other, then could two Digital Worlds have adverse effects on the balance of each other?

"Zhuquaiomon," at the sound of Henry's voice, Izzy snapped back to attention.

"Zhuquaiomon?" Tentomon repeated. "Why would he be so careless?"

"As long as it doesn't directly threaten his Sovereignty or the Digital World as a whole then he doesn't pay it much mind. That's why when the D-Reaper surfaced he blamed humanity for it and made plans to conquer Earth so that Digimon could preside here if the Digital World was destroyed by it," explained Henry.

The theory was plausible now, but the redhead's main concern now shifted to this 'D-Reaper'. From the way they sounded when they mentioned it, it seemed like it could rival Apocalymon or MaloMyotismon in terms of the chaos it could've caused had it not been dealt with.

"What exactly is the D-Reaper? Was it some sort of powered up evil Digimon?" he asked.

"Henry gestured towards his laptop. "May I?" Izzy nodded and handed it to the blue-haired teen. Waiting patiently as he began to type away, Izzy allowed himself to become engulfed in his theories.

 _If their world is somehow affecting ours then we need to figure out just what may be causing it, then how to stop it. That's assuming that this just isn't some accident on the Parasimon's part with that portal they were building. Ugh… Right now I know so little about what's going on. If I were to be able to get in contact with Gennai then he may be able to assist us in getting back home to some degree. From what Henry and Mr. Wong told me, they haven't had a Digimon problem for years up until yesterday. Come to think of it, things had been quiet on our end up until Gennai contacted us. This can't just be coincidence, I'm certain of it…_

"This is D-Reaper," Izzy looked across when Henry moved to sit next to him. He angled the laptop so that the two could see the video playing on-screen.

A large pink formless mass swallowing – the only descriptive word he could think of – Shinjuku was the sight Izzy saw in the video. His jaw fell ajar. He hadn't seen anything so encompassing since MaloMyotismon drowned the world in darkness. The military uselessly fired missile after missile at it, none of them exploded, they simply entered its mass and that was the end of it. He turned to Henry with his dark eyes coated in disbelief.

" _That_ is D-Reaper? That's no Digimon…" Henry nodded and Izzy could've sworn he saw Janyuu shift away from them a little but dismissed it.

"It was a program that was created to delete any AI that exceeded its allotted space or that became too advanced for its own good. Like the Digimon can digivolve, it learnt to evolve to match them. After it attacked the Digital World, it set its sights on our world, deciding that we too had become too advanced for our own good." Henry stopped the video from playing and clicked over to another tab he had opened.

Before he hit play, a long-winded exasperated sigh reached their ears. All eyes in the room turned to Terriermon as the little dog-bunny Digimon wiped a tear from his eye.

"What's up, Terriermon?" Henry asked, concern tinging his voice.

"Why did _I_ have to be the one stuck with all the nerds?" He cried aloud crossing his diminutive arms across his chest and falling down on his behind in frustration.

"Ignore him," Henry sighed.

"You know," Tentomon looked up at Izzy, "I have a sinking feeling that Terriermon and Gomamon would get along swimmingly." Izzy couldn't suppress the smile that appeared in his face. Those two would surely drive Joe and Henry crazy if they ever met.

Henry hit play on the new video and Izzy watched as the military fled to another point in the city behind a news reporter who was making comments about how the heat in the area was rising steadily, which Izzy thought was quite ridiculous seeing as though she was wearing a thick winter jacket. Henry then stopped that video and switched over to yet another tab with more video footage of the event. This one had three Digimon fighting beings attached to the D-Reaper's mass by a red cable. One of them, a white knight he recalled Tai had briefly spoke to him about before they parted ways with different Tamers outside of the Metropolitan Government Building, was slashing his lance at a giant crystalline orb suspended between two buildings. The camera angle changed and it seemed as if the knight was attacking the camera itself from the way the video was playing. Lines of code streaked across the video feed and Izzy's eyes exploded from his very eye sockets as what he saw registered in his mind.

"How is that physically possible?!"

* * *

 ** _Matsuki Bakery_**

"So, it's called biomerging?" Tai asked incredulously, leaning forward in Takato's desk chair expectantly.

"Yep!" Takato replied with a large grin on his face.

"So Gallantmon from earlier today," Tai looked at Guilmon, then back to Takato, "isn't just Guilmon, but _you_ inside as well?"

"Sure is!" Guilmon cheered.

Tai sat back in the chair and couldn't hold back the goofy grin that ended up dominating his face. He spun on the chair to face Koromon sitting on the desk and put his hand on his hips. He cast an accusing glare at the little pink Digimon and said, "And how come _we_ can't do that?"

"Don't look at me," Koromon snorted, "I don't make the rules, Tai."

"Couldn't we just break them somehow then?"

"Hey, you wanna join me in being caught in MetalSeadramon's jaws next time then be my guest. I'll just hop on out and you can be tagged in!"

"Don't be like that…"

Koromon huffed and turned away from Tai. Tai reached out and picked him up in his arms, turning back to Takato and Guilmon, then turned Koromon around to face him. He tried to struggle, but lacking any form of limbs or even a torso ruined his attempts. "You're telling me that you don't think you and me both being WarGreymon wouldn't be the coolest thing ever?"

Koromon seemed to contemplate it for a few moments before he blew out his cheeks. "I already have to share Omnimon with MetalGarurumon! Besides, do you really think there's room in my body for all your hair?"

Tai rapped Koromon on the head with his knuckles and seethed. "I forgot how much of a _comedian_ you are."

"Wait a minute," Takato interrupted. Tai stopped his assault on Koromon and they both looked over to the younger brunet teen. "Your Digimon can digivolve to Omnimon?!"

"Yeah, you should've seen me defeat Diaboromon!" Koromon laughed.

Tai smirked and looked down at him, a devilish idea coming to his mind. "You know," he began slyly, "if I remember correctly Diaboromon came back and it was Imperialdramon that defeated him." Koromon looked up at him with his eyes full of betrayal.

"Yeah, well I helped!" he snapped.

"Calm down, it was a joke," Tai laughed.

Takato stood up from his seat on the floor and crossed the room to his desk behind Tai and Koromon, the two watching him curiously. He opened up the top draw and from it he pulled out an art book. He brandished it so that the two could see and opened it up, quickly flicking past page after page until he settled on the one he'd been looking for. He turned it around for them to see the drawing of Omnimon on the page. His Garuru Cannon opened up, sitting atop his WarGreymon arm and charging up to fire.

"That's amazing, Takato!"

Tai took the book from Takato's hand and looked over the detailed drawing. There was no colour to the drawing, but as he peered over each detail of the familiar Digimon, Tai decided that he liked this particular piece without it. He wasn't some kind of art buff, preferring sports any day of the week himself, but he had to admit, it was definitely kick-ass.

"How did you even know what Omnimon looked like?" Tai asked, raising an eyebrow.

He shrugged. "I've met one before."

"You've met _another_ Omnimon?"

"Yeah. I was visiting my cousin in Okinawa and he helped Henry and Rika get to me when Mephistomon attacked us."

"Well, I guess you aren't one-of-a-kind," Tai said to Koromon and he puffed out his cheeks.

Chuckling lightly at Koromon, Tai began to absentmindedly flip through the pages of Takato's art book. Takato returned to sitting on the floor. He flipped past a lot of pieces, and gathered they were all from his adventures. Gallantmon standing heroically on the top of a rock outcropping, his cape billowing in an unseen breeze. A green cyborg Digimon with missiles mounted on its shoulders fighting a giant Phoenix. A priestess-like Digimon in a fox mask flying through the air surrounded by cherry blossom petals. A humanoid Digimon with a cybernetic arm standing high up in a building top, the setting sun framing the edges of his form.

"These are so cool, Takato, you could be an artist or something," he breathed.

"Thanks," Takato replied, a blush on his cheeks at the compliment.

Tai turned the next page and stopped. This drawing wasn't finished, Tai could tell that it had come from somewhere else in the boy's imagination. Much like the ones before it, it was of another Digimon. The top half of its body was a dragon, the bottom half serpentine. Its gnarly jaws were open wide as if screaming in rage, saliva drooling from its lips.

"What's this one?" Tai turned the book around and it was met with a frown from the other boy.

"That's… Megidramon…"

"Was he an evil Digimon you fought?" asked Koromon. Guilmon's ears drooped sadly and Takato pet his head reassuringly.

"N-no, I uh… I got angry at a Digimon named Beelzemon because he killed a friend of ours, Leomon." Takato stopped and this time it was Guilmon who reassured him by nudging him with his muzzle. "I ordered Guilmon to digivolve to mega while I was angry and he… became _that_."

Tai looked back at the drawing and then to Takato. "So he dark digivolved?"

"I guess that's how you'd put it…" Takato sighed.

"Don't sweat it," Tai said and Takato looked at him disbelievingly.

"What do you mean?"

"Listen, Takato. I can see that you're still upset by this, but you need to get over it. I'm the bearer of the crest of courage, okay?" Tai reached into his shirt and pulled out said crest. He held it out to the younger teen and he took it carefully into his own hands. "I once tried to force Koromon to digivolve to the ultimate level before either of us was ready and it went wrong. He dark digivolved to SkullGreymon and attacked us all."

"That's…" Takato searched for words but couldn't find any.

"Afterwards, I was so distraught and convinced myself that if he were to ever digivolve again he'd go back to that. Eventually we got past it, and he was able to digivolve properly. Anyways, I'm rambling, my point is you just have to remember the lesson you learnt from that experience." Tai gave him a thumbs up, and Takato seemed to perk up slightly.

"What did you learn from that?" he asked.

Tai and Koromon smiled at each other. "I learnt to put of all my trust into my partner, to face the things that scare me, and that there can be a fine line between arrogance and courage."

He turned the book back around to face himself and continued perusing its contents. He stopped on a page that had a certain drawing that captured his eyes. A view of a girl sitting in what seemed to be a doorway, her back to the perspective and a garden in front of her. It was uncompleted and there was a lot of detail missing from it, but Tai could still make most of it out.

He smirked. He'd only met her a few hours ago, but there was no mistaking that hairstyle.

"So," he looked at Takato over the top of the book. "Rika, huh?" Takato blushed furiously.

"Wha-?!" The teen pretty much leapt up from his spot on the floor and snatched the book from Tai's clutches. He paled when he saw the drawing that he had been working on the night before and snapped the book shut, hiding it behind his back. "Well, would you look at the time? Showcase is over…"

"What? Nothing wrong with having a crush on a _girl_." Tai teased, furthering the boy's embarrassment.

"I don't have a crush on her," he deflected.

"Then why'd you draw her?"

"I just did. Yeah. I just did, that's all."

Tai waved a dismissive hand and traded a knowing look with Koromon. "Alright, alright, fine." He resigned. Guilmon raised a claw to his mouth and narrowed his eyes in confusion.

"Takato, I'm confused. Does he mean you like Rika like you liked Jeri?"

Takato blanched and Tai roared with laughter at his expression. He had to admit, he hadn't expected to find so much entertainment come from tonight and knowing that he wasn't the only one to have made foolhardy decisions was comforting. He shot Takato a wide smirk when the colour returned to his cheeks.

"What about you, huh? I'll bet you have a crush on one of those girls from today," said Takato in an attempt to recover. Tai arched an eyebrow and looked at him with a steady gaze.

"Even if I _did_ have a crush on Sora or Mimi you'd never get it out of me," he chortled. He shook his head. Just how was Mimi handling it at Rika's house, the redhead seemed like a bit of a wildfire to Tai? And was Sora awake yet, was she confused about everything? Was Matt taking care of her? Tai smiled to himself. Matt would definitely take care of her.

"Takato, honey!" The sound of Mrs. Matsuki's voice calling from downstairs caught their attention. "Takato! You're on the news, come here, and quickly in case you miss it!" Takato looked at Tai and the two brunet's shrugged and made their way from Takato's room to the kitchen downstairs, Guilmon in two and Koromon in Tai's arms.

* * *

 ** _Nonaka Household_**

 **Though the spider-like monsters confirmed to be Digimon were defeated and the city was freed from the potential disaster that might've ensued if they hadn't been, everyone is left wondering if the way the situation was handled was appropriate. Massive damage was sustained to buildings from attacks that went awry, and streets were torn up in aftereffects of blasts.**

Mimi snorted derisively and flicked her honey coloured tresses over her shoulder. After leaving the Metropolitan Government Building earlier that afternoon, Rika and her partner Renamon had led her and Palmon to their traditional style home in the west side of Shinjuku. Upon arriving, both Mimi and Palmon had instantly fallen in love with the home. It had been impossible to get Palmon to leave the garden and Mimi was certain the she would still be outside enjoying what she had claimed to be some of the most pure soil she'd ever had the pleasure to drain. Mimi had just smiled and shook her head.

Afterwards, Rika had led her inside and Mimi had momentarily been shocked when Renamon seemingly vanished from sight until Rika had explained the ability she had. Its name Mimi didn't even want to consider thinking about spelling. She'd been introduced to Rika's grandmother Seiko who was one of the most polite people she'd ever met in her life. Seiko had given her the most delicious miso soup that she'd been about fit to cry with how delicious it was. It was then that she remembered how much she loved the food in Japan, having not eaten since getting back from America. Oddly, it felt like a lot more time had passed than she'd experienced.

She shrugged it off though. The news report kept going.

 **Then again today in Shinjuku Park, yet another Digimon battle took place. The Tamers once again intervened, and as you can see from the video footage, the three Digimon they were fighting seemingly disappeared after what appeared to be infighting between their partners. We go now to an eye witness.**

Mimi watched as the frame changed to show an adult male with short cropped black hair, his expensive business suit iron pressed. _Typical background businessman,_ she thought.

 **Yes, I witnessed them fighting. I was on my lunch break when I heard the battle begin. The Tamers' Digimon seemed to have it under control – that knight and the green flying rabbit – but then the fox thing interfered and stopped their attacks. I didn't see any of them get destroyed so I'm wondering if they even bothered to finish them off.**

She turned her head to look at Rika who was watching it alongside her from their position at the kitchen table with a bored expression on her face, Seiko at the head of it, though she seemed to look more concerned.

 **It has yet to be confirmed whether or not the Digimon that appeared today were defeated or not after their mysterious disappearance. It makes you wonder if the Tamers are fit for their taken role of defeating these Digimon with the collateral damage they cause and whether or not they'd be able to handle the job if something like the formless pink mass D-Reaper were to attack us again, when there is clear animosity displayed publicly for everyo-…**

The television flicked over to another channel and the two girls looked to Seiko who still wore a deep frown.

"What was that for?" said Rika. She raised an eyebrow when Seiko didn't respond straight away.

"It's just," she began after a few moments, "you don't seem terribly concerned with this, dear."

Rika shrugged. "Should I be?"

"I would think so. Don't you think that if their belief that you and your Digimon caused more trouble than you help to fix that there could be severe repercussions for that?"

"I mean, yeah. Okay. I've thought of that before, but there's really not much we can do to avoid it if I'm being completely honest."

"What do you mean?"

"I think," Renamon appeared behind Rika's chair as if from thin air. Mimi tensed slightly and clutched at her heart. "What Rika means is that there will always be those who think negatively towards us."

"You don't think there's anything you could do?"

"I'm afraid not. The only thing I believe that we can do is to do what we normally do and deal with threats that present themselves."

"So I suppose that you think the Digimon yesterday that appeared were just the beginning of something?"

"I can't say for certain," Renamon shook her head. "But it would be awfully naïve to write it off as if it were just an isolated event."

Seiko frowned, but nodded. She excused herself from the table and made her way into the kitchenette to deal with the dishes. Mimi watched the older woman with curious eyes and couldn't help the smile that appeared on her face. The older woman obviously cared a lot for her granddaughter and even Renamon, it made Mimi think of her own parents. They uprooted their entire lives and moved to New York after seeing and experiencing the destruction of Odaiba first hand six years ago. Then when Digimon started appearing in New York two years ago their first instinct had been to flee the city. Perhaps if she'd told them earlier about Digimon instead of letting their first impression of them be the Bakemon that kidnaped them and held them hostage in the Convention Centre then maybe things would've played out differently…

She sighed. There was no point now. It wasn't that she hadn't enjoyed living in America, she'd made some great friends and met many more DigiDestined there but the stray 'what if's' and 'maybe's' still plagued her mind now and again.

Then there was that… No. She couldn't let that affect her anymore. There were way too many nights filled with the resounding-

"You okay?" Mimi became aware of Rika's voice and turned to her. She was leaning against the edge of the table now with a glass of water in each hand. She offered one to her and she accepted it gratefully.

"Yeah, I'm okay," she replied.

"Ah," said Rika, "so _that_ explains why you've been blankly staring in to space for the past ten minutes."

"Oh," was all Mimi could say, blinking. She hadn't realised just how long she'd been staring blankly at the television for. In fact, she hadn't noticed she'd blanked out at all. "I guess I kinda just got lost in thought there is all," she offered the redhead her best Mimi smile and took a sip of her water.

"Hasn't it all caught up with you yet?" Mimi arched a perfect eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

"Just, being in another dimension? Shouldn't you be freaking out or something?"

Mimi laughed sweetly. "You think I would be, right?" she shook her head, her bangs lightly tickling her face when she did so. "I suppose after the amount of times that we've been just thrown into the thick of things without warning kinda makes me used to it. I _am_ worried about how Mamma and Pappa are going to react when they get to Japan and I'm not there, but I'm confident we'll find a way back."

Rika nodded, seemingly accepting her answer for the time being. She sat back down next to her and Seiko bid them a goodnight and glided from the room elegantly. Now the two girls sat in silence. Mimi fidgeted. She couldn't help it. She wanted to keep talking, to keep the conversation alive. Rika didn't seem like the type for idle air-headed conversation and that _bothered_ her now that their conversation had stopped.

Sure, okay, maybe the conversation wasn't exactly the greatest or most interesting thing. Maybe Rika just wasn't the type to go into problems too much? Thinking about it now that seemed like it should've been apparent from the get-go. The redhead practically screamed emotionally armoured. Mimi smiled devilishly, she'd change that.

"Hey," she tested. Rika's violet eyes trained on her so she continued. "So those boys today, they were kinda cute, right?"

Rika scoffed. Mimi didn't miss her body tense slightly though. She had a habit of noticing things she wasn't supposed to. To anyone else that would be a bother, but to Mimi, it was a gift.

"I think I might ask one of them out. What do you think? Which one do you think would say yes?"

"Henry? I don't know," Rika groaned.

"He was the blue haired one?" Mimi prodded her lip thoughtfully. "He sounded pretty smart, y'know? Kinda reminds me of Izzy." Mimi laughed sweetly once again. Rika rolled her eyes. "Those smart-types are pretty adorable in their own way, but they get wa-ay too lost in their own little worlds for me."

No reaction. She shook her head slowly for dramatic effect. Rika drummed her fingers against the table, no real rhythm was created from the noise. Mimi was determined though and wasn't going to give up.

"What about the one with the goggles?"

Bingo. It almost went by completely unnoticed. If Mimi weren't Mimi she was certain that she'd have missed the almost imperceptible twitch of worry in the girl's eyes.

"What about him?" Rika shot back a little too hesitantly.

Mimi tapped her bottom lip in mock thought. "He was pretty cute is all... Reminded me of Tai except with a bit more social anxiety," she chuckled softly.

"I wouldn't bother," Rika deadpanned.

"Oh?" Mimi said. "Why is that?" Rika turned to her and her eyes seemed to study Mimi for a few log moments.

"Because he's a gogglehead," she eventually replied, turning back to the television. But she didn't watch it. Mimi sighed. Rika certainly was a tough nut to crack, that much was sure to her. The thought to leave it alone briefly arose in her mind, if Rika didn't want to talk to her about it then shouldn't she just let her be? Nope. Her urge to try and be friendly to those she met forced that brief thought back faster than it had dared appear.

Twirling a lock of her hair around her finger, "Do you call him that a lot? May I ask why?" she asked.

"Didn't you just technically ask me?"

"Well, yes, but… I was hoping you'd answer," Mimi sat back in the chair, her elbows dropping from the edge of the table where she'd propped them.

"I call him that because he can be an idiot," Rika reached up and grasped at something hidden under her shirt. A necklace, she presumed.

"Okay," she started slowly, "didn't peg you for the kinda girl to use pet names. That's really cute. Does he have one for you?"

Rika stiffened in her seat, then turned to glower at Mimi rigidly as if she'd just opened her mouth and told her the worst possible news one could break to someone. "What…?" she murmured, not seeing the problem. Once again Renamon appeared in the room from out of nowhere, Mimi yelped.

"I really wish you weren't able to do that so suddenly," Mimi pulled a face.

"My apologies," Renamon inclined her head, then turned to her Tamer. "Rika, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she flatly replied, letting her icy violet eyes break away from Mimi and cast back to the television. Again, she didn't look as though she was even watching it. Renamon just nodded in response, looked to Mimi.

Mimi swore Renamon smiled at her, but couldn't tell.

* * *

 ** _Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building_**

If there was anything Yamato Ishida hated, it was hospitals. Hospitals were full of sick people, and sick people meant illnesses and diseases and people coughing and spluttering all over the place. Hospitals were the worst. There always seemed to be this unspoken rule that you had to talk and move quietly in them. Why? Who knew? All _he_ knew was that he didn't like them one bit, and that was enough, frankly. However, he wasn't in a hospital.

No.

Instead, Matt was in a small, stuffy room. It felt like it was _trying_ to suck all the life from his body with its bland, undecorated walls. However, he sucked it up without a complaint and kept his cool as he sat patiently on a small stool placed beside the white bed that dominated most of the area in the room that was referred to as the 'infirmary'. He scoffed inwardly, that was just another word for tiny hospital.

A knock at the door alerted Matt to someone's presence and he craned his neck to see who it was. Gorou 'Shibumi' Mizuno gave him a small wave. "May I?" Matt nodded.

Shibumi walked slowly into the room with quiet steps – furthering Matt's point about the unspoken rule – and sat on a stool on the opposite side of the bed Sora laid in peacefully. They sat there in silence for a few minutes. Matt shifting his gaze between Sora and Biyomon who slept peacefully at the end of her bed. Shibumi staring at him. He didn't blink. He just…smiled…

Shifting in his position, he faked a low cough. He now suddenly wished he hadn't nodded to the man earlier. If it weren't for Sora laying in the bed, there's no way he'd suffer through the man's unwavering gaze.

He coughed again.

"How're ya holding up?" he asked after a while.

"I'm fine," Matt replied.

"It was quite the shock when she passed out.

"Mhm, it was…" Matt looked down at Tsunomon in his arms, praying he would wake up and save him from this nightmarish attempt at small talk. It was too uncomfortable right now. He was cold. He was aloof. He didn't do small-talk with strangers. Shibumi seemed carefree. Shibumi seemed to warm up to everyone. Shibumi asked him another question.

"Do you think you're going to be okay to stay here the night?"

"Yeah," Matt answered, "it'll be fine. Do you know what exactly happened?"

"Not exactly," Shibumi shook his head, "but I can estimate a good guess as to what the cause was." Matt gestured for him to continue and he complied. "Well, the readings we got from the digital field that brought the first part of your group through were unique, unlike anything I'd seen from back in the day five years ago. I won't get into the nitty gritty details of it but what Tao and I had to do was replicate the digital field that brought you and your friends here.

"That was easy enough, but to alter it with the data coding from the vortex was quite the challenge," he chuckled. "After we were confident enough with the results we set it into motion and hoped that it would pull your friends through. My guess as to why your friend collapsed is because of the fact she was brought from the digital limbo forcefully so the conversion of her body from data to flesh and blood took its toll on her."

The blond looked at Sora's sleeping form worriedly. None of that sounded good, but he would stay here until she woke up. When she did, he'd surely have a _great_ time explaining all of this to her. He sighed heavily.

"You're very worried about her," Shibumi noted.

"I am. I'm worried that she might not wake up," unaware to his own action, he held Tsunomon a little tighter, "or that this might screw with her body somehow. What if she's not completely flesh and blood and some part of her is still data?"

"I wouldn't worry about that. The scans we ran on her indicate that she's completely fine." Matt didn't look convinced. "If it helps, think of it like she's suffering from jet lag."

Admittedly, that helped him a little. He grew aware of how tight he was holding his partner and moved him so that he too was on the bed, next to Biyomon. He inhaled deeply through his nose, the cold air stung a little. All he had wanted was to go and play at his concert, have his friends come and watch, then go and celebrate with Sora. Instead, he'd been dragged to the Digital World, and true to form, they all ended up in over their heads somewhere unknown. Thinking back to the concert, it had been regrettable that no-one else was able to make it.

They got busy. It was easy to understand. But when he looked out into the crowd and managed to spot Sora sitting happily and patiently and beautifully with her hands in her lap it made him want to perform even better than if he hadn't picked her out. His smile had lasted the entire performance, even after when they raced back to his apartment to respond to their Digivices.

"There's something else that I've come to tell you about," Shibumi caught his attention.

"What's that?" he asked.

"I'm not really sure how to put this delicately," he murmured. The older man placed his hand on his chin in thought for a minute before he spoke again, "you see, the problem is – and I know this is harsh and might be difficult to come to grips with – but there is only so much that we at Hypnos will be able to do for you."

"What do you mean?"

"Before I came here to check up on the two of you, Yamaki and I were discussing where things go from here in regards to you and your friends."

"I see… How did that go?"

"Well, not much came from it. Yamaki has a few people that owe him favours, and he said he'll be able to pull a few strings. This will allow you all to be moved into an apartment building and given an income – an allowance, if you will – that should sustain you all for the most part."

"For not being able to do much, that sure does sound like quite a lot more than he should be doing for a bunch of kids from another world…"

"Therein lies the problem though." Matt arched a brow.

"We won't be able to help you find a way home. There's a lot that goes in to keeping this place running, and its main function is for monitoring criminal activity. Like it or not, Hypnos still has to pertain to its primary duties, any money spent on something that the higher-ups deem unnecessary or unusual will be investigated. As with any other business really."

"Please, you're already doing us enough. We've been able to find our way home on our own before. If we've had to do it before, I'm sure we can do it again."

"I'm interested about that actually…"

"About what, exactly?"

Shibumi didn't respond right away. He seemed to be tossing around the phrasing in his head for a long while before he actually responded. "Well, what were the other places you've travelled to and come back from?"

"It's mostly just the Digital World. Some of us have been to a few other worlds, but most of the time it's just been there."

"I see…" He paused. "Do you think getting home from another universe will be as easy as the Digital World though?"

Matt cast his eyes over Sora's still form, and for the first time that day he felt the cold grip of worry truly take a hold of him. He looked back towards Shibumi but didn't meet his gaze. "I don't know…"

"You might have to consider being here for the long-haul is all I'm saying."

"What do you mean by that?"

Shibumi seemed hesitant to respond at first. "I'm just taking into consideration all of the possibilities that could come with a situation as delicate and as strange as this one. You might have to have a plan in place for if you can't go back. Going to school, getting a job, that kind of thing. It's not something you may want to think about, but I think it might be necessary.

"Look, when I'm not assisting here at Hypnos I'm going to do what I can to help you out. I feel that doing that much at least is right. But there are still lots of things we don't know and understand. Even with the knowledge we currently have, if we were to be successful we have no way of knowing if you'd even be sent back to your own world. We were only able to get your friends because they were hanging in limbo between our world and the Digital World. That was just a matter of initiating the bioemergence."

He stood up, crossed the room, and placed a hand on Matt's shoulder. "I'll do what I can, when I can. All I'm saying is that it's just food for thought. If any of you decide that it's best for you to attend school for a period of time or want assistance in getting jobs then come see me, I have buddies that owe me favours."

Matt didn't respond. How could he?

* * *

 **Author's Note:** ** _Okay, finally done. Just needed to get a few things in there. Next up we can finally get into some_** **real** ** _plot development, but it's not what you'll expect. In time, you'll understand, I'm sure. If not, then… I dunno..._**

 ** _Also, work might slow down a little on this as I'm also writing another story at this current point in time and it's in a different writing style. So as I write that, I'm going to be slowly changing the way this one feels to match it so that I'm not switching between them, it's also written better anyhow so that aids this story in the long run. My writing is hitting a basis where I'd like to keep it consistent through all stories not to confuse myself when switching projects. As the one I've started is going to be a proper book and not a work of Fanfiction, I'm going to be taking on (hopefully) a better way to write etc._**

 ** _Anyways! Dear Mimi is going to get on Rika's bad side if she's not careful with what topics she decides to talk about. How exactly does Matt feel about what parting words Shibumi gave him? What effect will the news report have on everyone? Guess the next chapter 'Courage' may give us a little insight to that, eh?_**

 ** _As always, hope you enjoyed!_**


	11. Courage

_**Tales of the Tamers: Act 1  
Chapter 10: Courage**_

* * *

 _ **Shinjuku**_

Shinjuku was exactly how she remembered it to be. Well, from the select few times she'd visited the bustling part of Tokyo that is. After waking up from what seemed like nothing more than a nap, Sora was shocked to hear just what occurred in the time she'd been asleep, to say the least. In fact, she wasn't sure she'd have quite believed it if she hadn't woken up under the circumstances she did.

Strange room she couldn't place, a worried Biyomon by her side along with a blue haired teen about her age and a Terriermon on his shoulder. The mouth on that thing… Sora was used to strange situations, but it wasn't until Matt and Gabumon entered the room until things had been explained to her. As best that Matt could explain the situation, anyways. He got points for trying, she decided.

From there, things had only escalated. Izzy had shown up to talk to her properly about everything. Mimi had wrenched her into a bone crushing hug, blubbering that she was glad that she was okay, and Tai had also expressed his worry. Though Tai expressing his worry was more akin to that of Matt trying to explain things. Both of them always struggled with words in those situations, but at least she got the point.

Now, barely even a day later, she was walking with Matt, Biyomon, and Gabumon through Shinjuku on their way to highschool. Highschool. According to Izzy and a big shot she found out to just call Yamaki, they had to go to school. Something about a sense of normality being established in their lives. Sora hadn't heard properly over her own inward groaning.

At least they wouldn't be starting today. She was glad for that much. They were just on their way to meet with Yamaki at the school to speak with someone who would organise their integration into the school. It was certainly an awkward time of the year to be taking in new students, with it being late June and Matt, Tai, and Sora herself being in their final year.

She sighed. Back home they had been halfway through their final year, just starting Summer Vacation. Now they were in another universe being thrust into school a few months behind. The entire concept gave Sora a headache, needless to say, Izzy was having a field day with it. Sora supposed she was fine with it as long as he didn't revert back to his alien theories.

Behind her, someone yelped. Jumping in fright, Sora wheeled around to see where it had come from and laid her eyes on a teen no more than a few years younger than herself, splayed out on the ground. He shook his mop of brown hair and propped himself up on his hands, Sora catching sight of a pair of yellow rimmed goggles hanging from his neck. Beside her, Matt sniggered.

Gabumon approached the boy and raised a hand to his mouth in curiosity. "Are you okay, Takato?" he asked.

The boy, Takato, Sora remembered him being mentioned a few times, nodded. A blush of embarrassment took his cheeks as he hauled himself to his feet. "Just fine, thanks. Gotta be more careful when I'm running," he laughed nervously.

"Are you on your way to school?" Matt asked.

"Yeah, though I'm pretty late…" he admitted.

Matt smirked, "Wanna walk with us? We're on our way there too."

Takato seemed to consider it for a moment, shifting his weight from one foot to another. "Well… I'm pretty late, so I _should_ run there to get there with some of my dignity in tact so that when Miss. Asaji makes me stand in the hall it won't be as bad."

"C'mon, Takato," Matt encouraged, prodding him with his elbow a little, "you're already late as it is, it's not like you could get in more trouble from your teacher than you're already going to."

"It's not my teacher I'm necessarily worried about," Sora heard Takato mumble, kicking the concrete with his shoe and straightening his hastily done tie.

"Relax, can't hurt to walk with us this one time right?" Matt threw his arm around Takato and began walking.

"Matt is such a good influence." Biyomon muttered sarcastically so that only Sora and Gabumon would hear.

"The best," Sora replied in the same tone.

"If you're all going to the same school then won't you be walking together again anyway?" Gabumon asked.

"I think maybe Matt didn't consider that. Come on, we should catch up." Sora shook her head and caught up to the two teens. Matt's arm was no longer around Takato's shoulders, his hands instead taking up residence in the pockets of his jeans.

From what she had heard, there used to be a larger contingency of Tamers in the Shinjuku area, but now there were just three of them. Henry Wong she had already had the pleasure of meeting. He had come across to her as a very respectful and curious guy, and was easy enough to get along with. Even if his partner wasn't. Rika Nonaka Sora hadn't met yet, but from what Mimi had told her about the girl she was a real hard-ass – Mimi's words, not hers – but she could be easy enough to get along with if you didn't talk to her about boys, feelings, fashion, or pretty much anything else Mimi would talk to anyone about. Now she'd met Takato, even if Matt hadn't actually introduced them yet.

It didn't seem like he was going to though. Sora was sure that the thought probably hadn't even crossed his mind, so she'd have to do it herself.

"So, uh, Takato, wasn't it?" Sora tried, tapping his shoulder lightly and giving him a warm smile.

Startled, he turned to face her. He seemed shocked at first, then he returned her smile. "Oh, right! We haven't actually met yet! Yeah, I'm Takato Matsuki." He could definitely be scatterbrained, Sora didn't have to know him for that long to figure that out.

"Sora Takenouchi."

"Right," Matt clicked his fingers, "you two haven't met yet. I forgot about that." Sora shook her head. It definitely never crossed his mind.

"Mhm, I'm sure." She teased.

Matt looked at her in indignation, then focused on the path ahead. "Takato's the one that's been putting Tai and Agumon up since we've been here."

"Oh, you poor thing," Sora pat Takato's shoulder in mock sorrow. "Those two can be bottomless pits. Your poor parents must be going broke with how much they can eat."

"I've never seen a person that could eat as much as Guilmon could. It's almost astounding… But it's not all bad; my parents love Tai and it hasn't been _as bad_ since Koromon digivolved to Agumon." Takato smiled and shook his head. "Guilmon spends most of his time now getting to know Agumon, I think he's excited to have another dinosaur in the house."

"I imagine Agumon would get along easily with him." Biyomon piped up, perching herself on Sora's shoulder.

"Guilmon, is he your partner?" Sora questioned.

Takato nodded, "Sure is, made him myself."

Sora cocked a brow and looked at Matt. Matt blinked at her before figuring out what she wanted to know. "Ah, right. Tai told me that Takato created Guilmon himself. Just kinda, drew him on a bit of paper, then _poof_. Instant Digimon."

"Really?" Sora asked. She hadn't heard much, if anything at all, about Guilmon other than him and Takato taking out Lillymon, and then fought MetalGreymon and WereGarurumon upon meeting them. If he were anything like Kimeramon, then it just seemed to her like any Digimon created by a person was unnaturally strong.

"Yeah, it's been pretty ironic having Agumon around the house if I'm being honest." Takato chuckled to himself.

"What do you mean?" Matt wondered.

"Well, when I was creating him I designed him to specifically be better than Agumon. Even his champion and ultimate forms look kinda like Greymon and MetalGreymon. He just kinda gets… bigger and… metal, I suppose…"

Matt threw his head back in laughter. "No way! Wait until I tell Tai, he's gonna flip!" Sora couldn't help but chuckling herself.

"Well, I'd like to meet him sometime." Sora smiled. She certainly wanted to be there if Matt did ever tell Tai. He'd probably be more offended than Agumon himself would be.

They kept up the light conversation for the remainder of their walk. They didn't really discuss anything of real importance, despite the ravaging curiosity ransacking Sora's brain about how different their worlds could possibly be, despite the fact they looked impossibly similar. Hanging out with a character such as Izzy one's entire life would do that to a person she supposed, metaphorically beating down and roping back her multitude of questions for the time being. Takato seemed like a pretty socially awkward kid sometimes, not that she was one to judge.

She didn't know how long the walk hand taken them from when Takato had caught up with them, but when they entered the gates of Shinjuku Yamabuki High, Sora wasn't surprised that he barked slightly and wheeled around to them.

"I really gotta go," he bowed haphazardly, "I almost forgot how late I was!" Then with that, he was off at a sprint, tie flapping in his face.

 _Definitely scatterbrained,_ Sora giggled. Takato disappeared into a building, and at a nudge from Matt, she followed him over to a different building. A sign over the doorway clearly labelled it as the administration building, where they were to meet with Yamaki.

Stepping through the door and exchanging sneakers for indoor slippers, she and Matt made their way into the room. Immediately they were faced with a tall blond man a suit wearing sunglasses, Sora remembered Yamaki from the long explanations he had given her alongside the others about their current situation. No matter how many times she'd come to face Yamaki in the future, Sora was certain that she'd never get used to seeing him wear sunglasses inside. Part of her couldn't help but notice his resemblance to Matt as she looked between the two. Both tall, blond, and she had seen Yamaki's blue eyes from the side on one occasion when he had turned to scold an employee in her presence. She brushed the thoughts aside for later when Yamaki greeted them.

"I was beginning to wonder if you were going to show up." Yamaki spoke, placing something that flashed in the lights of the room into his pocket.

"We're here now." Matt grunted. It made sense to Sora that Matt would respond with his guard up. He wasn't one to open himself to bigwig authority figures like Yamaki.

"If you'll follow me." Without awaiting their response Yamaki turned on his heel and strode down the hallway, ignoring most doors on either side.

They followed him at a slower pace, neither said anything to one another. Though she felt the awkwardness creeping up inside her, Sora tabled it aside, and continued beside Matt and Gabumon, Biyomon on her shoulder still, down another hallway. It was strange to be able to have the Digimon out in the open. The last times the Digimon had come to their world, Sora and the others had to hide them or pretend that they were plush dolls. One time she and Mimi had even pretended that Palmon and Biyomon were babies in a stroller. Oh, what a wonderful idea that had been up until they began arguing over the limited space inside it.

"Uhh, are people really going to be comfortable with us going in there?" Gabumon piped up, not realising he was thinking along the same thoughts as Sora when Yamaki reached for the handle of a door to slide it open.

Yamaki paused, retracted his hand and seemed to consider the question for a few moments. "It's up to you. Mr. Nishijima is thankfully one of the more open-minded people in Tokyo."

Biyomon and Gabumon looked to one another and shrugged. Taking it as the sign that they were okay with following them in, Yamaki slid the door open and stepped into the room. Matt, Gabumon, Sora, and Biyomon followed him through, Sora closed the door behind them out of respect. The room wasn't anything special. A low table sat in the centre of the room and shelving and cupboards lined both walls to either sides of the room. The wall opposite had large windows behind half closed blinds that let in lengthy rectangles of sunshine into the room, giving it a lazy afternoon vide, despite it still being morning. Under the windows was a desk with papers and book strewn across it. A man with messy black hair, wearing a long white lab-coat greeted them with a smile. His obsidian eyes warmed the room and seemed to smile at them.

"Ah, hello, hello!" He greeted, standing up from his chair and clasping his hands together. "I've been expecting you, Yamaki."

"Nishijima." Yamaki nodded curtly.

"So these must be two of the new students you discussed with me over the phone?" Mr. Nishijima turned to look at both Sora and Matt, unfazed by the two Digimon in the room with them.

"Yes, Yamato Ishida and Sora Takenouchi are the ones here right now. They represent the four transfer students from Tsukishima High that we previously discussed." Sora raised her eyebrow at that, but didn't say anything as the two men continued to converse.

"Yes, yes, I do recall. We are quite excited to be gaining some new students. At such an irregular time of year it's sure to cause quite the talk amongst the other students."

"So it's safe to assume that the transfers have been approved then?"

Mr. Nishijima nodded his head enthusiastically and opened up the top drawer of his desk. He rummaged around for a few seconds, muttering to himself that he 'knew he had put them somewhere' before his head perked up and he picked up four pages that had been sitting on the top of the desk the entire time.

He handed them all to Sora and she perused over them quickly, seeing that they were class schedules and the like, she handed one with Matt's name to him. She raised her eyebrows when she didn't spy one with Izzy's name on it. That would definitely have to be something she brought up with Yamaki later, and the redhead himself.

"Thank you," Sora bowed half-heartedly, still partially distracted by thought. "I know it must've been a hassle to _transfer_ us in so late into the term."

"Nonsense, pay it no mind." Mr. Nishijima waved a hand dismissively then turned and nodded to Yamaki, his warm smile never once having left his face.

"Right, thank you Nishijima. I'll be in touch."

Yamaki ushered them out of the room, and they followed him silently out of the building and into the cool, open air. He stopped and turned to them before they arrived at the gate to exit the school. He pulled off his glasses, revealing his stoic blue eyes, and put them in his pocket, looking over the ensemble before him.

"Now, from the looks you two were shooting around, I imagine you have questions to ask me?" He folded his arms across his chest.

"Yeah, well," Sora started, pulling out the sheets of paper she'd put in her pocket, "why isn't Izzy getting one? Isn't he attending with us?"

Yamaki shook his head. "No. Koushiro has decided to dedicate himself into studying the current phenomena. Since Janyuu Wong – in a technical sense – doesn't actually work at HYPNOS regularly, he's going to be assisting him. Frankly, I'm not surprised. I completely expect Gorou to join their efforts when he can."

Sora tugged at the ends of her shirt as Matt let loose a stunned whistle. "Mimi's not going to be too impressed when she hears about that."

Sora nodded her agreement. Being a year younger than herself, Matt, and Tai, Mimi and Izzy would have to be in the grade below them but the grade above the Tamers. While confident that Mimi would have little to no trouble making friends or even pushing through the solidarity, she still wouldn't be too pleased to be left alone. Especially since Sora had noted that she, Matt, and Tai were all in the same class.

"I'm sure she'll be okay," she said. It was really only to convince herself though. She knew exactly what the initial reaction would be before understanding set in.

"I'm sure." Matt replied sarcastically. "So what was all that about transferring?"

"Ah," Yamaki exhaled heavily, "I had some people spend quite a lot of time and effort on creating school records for all of you. Nishijima used to work at Hypnos as a field operative. When he was injured in a Digimon attack years ago, he decided to take up a different career path. It wasn't too hard to get you all organised in as transfer students from Odaiba. You can thank your friend Koushiro for providing us with all the necessary information."

"I see," Sora replied.

"I trust the apartment was up to standard?" Yamaki questioned. Earlier this morning the five of them and their Digimon had met up at an apartment building in the west side of Shinjuku to tour their new place of residency. Upon hearing it, Sora had been put off by the notion at first. She knew exactly how Tai Kamiya and Matt Ishida could get. She'd seen their rooms before and they were _not_ impressive or immaculate by any standard. But, the mother hen that she is, she decided that it wouldn't be so bad. With her and Izzy around, she was confident that they'd be able to keep the two males in some kind of clean state. Mimi… Well, there was going to be a lot of make-up and other beauty care products swarming the apartment in the very near future.

 _Wonderful._

Other than that, it had been a nice little apartment. Surprisingly it'd be able to accommodate the five of them. There was only two bedrooms, the one with a single bed and a bunk bed had obviously gone to the boys. While Tai and Matt, like the eight year olds they truly were at heart, fought over who'd get the top bunk – with Matt winning out eventually to Tai's chagrin – Izzy had swooped in and claimed the single bed and desk for himself and his laptop respectively. The other room Mimi and Sora had no qualms with sharing, but with only one built in closet in each room, they decided that they'd each put a few items into it, and keep the rest of the clothes they had in suitcases.

 _We'll have to buy those too,_ Sora sighed inwardly. _Who'd have thought it'd be so much effort to be so independent._ Though she guessed it would be naïve of her to have thought otherwise.

"Yeah. It's great." Matt answered. With no apparent interest in talking to them further, Yamaki placed his sunglasses back on the bridge of his nose and walked away, warning them to try and stay out of trouble if at all possible.

It was a fair warning, but with the way that things had been going recently, Sora figured it wouldn't be long before something else came up. Watching him walk out of sight, Sora cursed herself for not thanking Yamaki for everything that HYPNOS had done. He was a stern and straightforward man, and even though she knew nothing about him, Sora understood that he was going out on a limb to help five random kids, purely because they had Digimon.

"That guy gives me the creeps." Gabumon mumbled, drawing his fur coat closer to his body.

"You're right about that," Biyomon nodded, jumping off Sora's shoulder to land next to the reptilian Digimon.

"I don't think he's so bad, he seems to care more than he lets on." Sora reasoned, though Matt scoffed. This prompted Sora to turn to him and raise a brow. "What?"

"He just gives off the vibe that he's always hiding something. He's so aloof and – mysterious, or whatever." Matt shrugged, placing his hands in his pockets and making for the exit of the school.

Sora followed after with Biyomon and Gabumon. When she reached him she made sure to chuckle loud enough for him to here, and make it so that he could visibly see the smirk on her lips. "What?" he questioned again.

"Nothing…" She waved her hand dismissively for good measure. She knew it'd annoy him.

"It's not nothing, c'mon. What is it?" _Definitely annoyed him._

"Well, you say that Yamaki is so aloof and mysterious. Kinda reminds me of a certain moody blond in my company right now, doesn't it?" Matt's reaction was priceless. His jaw actually dropped into an 'o' as if it were the most preposterous thing he'd ever heard in his entire life.

"The hell do you mean by that?" he huffed, turning away.

Sora couldn't help but giggle. "Come on, Matt. The whole 'cold and aloof' thing you both have going on. You don't let it show often but you both care more than let on. You're both just angsty teenagers, really."

"It's true, Matt." Gabumon nodded. Matt shot him a glare that displayed the obvious betrayal, but didn't say anything more for a while.

"Hmph, you're making me wish _I'd_ drawn the short straw earlier." He muttered almost imperceptibly.

Knowing what he was referring too, Sora couldn't help but let a bark of laughter escape her lips, "Poor Tai. Do you think that we should go and see how he's holding up?"

"And be forced to wander through an endless maze of shops?" Matt snorted. "No thanks."

Sora looked at him exasperatedly. "Mimi's probably weighing him down with everything she's brought."

"We knew what we were getting in to when we gave her the money and trust to buy us all clothes. Tai knew what the deal was when we drew straws. All's fair in my eyes."

Sora really didn't have an argument against that. They _had_ drawn straws, and they _did_ trust Mimi with their clothing choices for the time being. In hindsight Sora wished she'd gone with Mimi, if only to even make sure that she didn't buy her too many dresses and skirts and to make sure she didn't buy anything that was over-the-top expensive.

Too late now, she figured.

She trusted Mimi's fashion sense enough.

It was then that a sound unfamiliar to Sora since the night of Matt's concert sounded out in the air. She raised an eyebrow in confusion before Matt pulled his Digivice from his pocket. He turned it over in his palm a few times, as if wondering how to shut the noise off.

Sora pulled her own Digivice from her pocket and looked at it. It too was beeping. Izzy had briefly explained it to her, and so the next thought wasn't one that she had wanted to think anytime soon. The prospect of having to go and fight a Digimon wasn't one that she enjoyed thinking about, especially knowing that regardless of whether she and Matt went that that Digimon would eventually be deleted.

Killed.

It wasn't an easy thought.

"Hey! Matt, right?"

Sora looked up at the hard female voice and turned her head. She saw the figure of another redheaded girl like herself, who looked about Takato's age, running towards them. Sora wasn't Izzy, but she had enough common sense and deductive abilities to know that this girl was Rika Nonaka from Mimi's description and the fact that someone in this world actually knew Matt.

"Rika." Matt nodded, confirming Sora's assumption event though it wasn't needed.

"There's a Digimon biomerging." She stated after stopping in front of them. A bipedal yellow fox Digimon that stood almost as tall as them appeared from nowhere behind her and Sora wondered if she'd actually seen her appear at all, or if she'd been occupying that space the entire time and she just hadn't noticed somehow.

"Do you think you're up for coming with me to handle it? Gogglehead and Henry aren't able to make it out so I'm taking this one alone. Don't exactly know what Renamon and I are running into yet, but I could use the back up." She looked to the both of them briefly. She stood confidently, and spoke even more-so. Sora was almost intimidated by the confidence and air of authority about the younger girl. However, the reluctant look in her eyes dashed that away.

Matt looked down at Gabumon and without words passing between them they nodded, Matt then repeating that action to Rika. Without giving any sort of recognition to him, she turned to Sora and seemed to wait for a response.

Sora looked down at Biyomon. She knew Biyomon would do it if it were necessary. But could she do that?

Could she ask that of Biyomon? Could she just willingly ask Biyomon to go in and kill a Digimon? They'd killed Digimon before, but they were utterly evil and out to take over the world, it was different then, it had been necessary. But was it? They were still killing a living being.

Could she live with that on her conscious?

If she didn't there was the chance that people could get hurt. Steeling her nerve, she closed her eyes and drew in a long breath. Opening her eyes and looking to Rika, she nodded.

"For what it's worth," Rika's eyes softened and it seemed so uncharacteristic of her, "I'm sorry it has to be this way."

"But we do what we must. If it's any consolation you may prevent a lot of people getting hurt." Her Digimon partner spoke up.

"Are you really sure, Sora?" Biyomon, always considerate of Sora's feelings, asked.

"I think I'm going to have to be, B." Sora offered her a weak smile and reluctantly set off.

* * *

"So remind me why again _I'm_ the one carrying all the bags?" Tai groaned, lifting up said weights in his hands.

Having been the one unfortunate enough to have drawn the short straw this morning, Tai was to be the one accompanying Mimi today. The group had split up to tend to different tasks during the day. Matt and Sora along with Gabumon and Biyomon had gone to the high school that Takato and his friends attended to get their entries into the school sorted.

It definitely was weird to think that when they were at home in their own world they'd been on summer vacation, yet now in this world they were going to be attending school again. There were a lot of other implications that came along with that fact, but Tai wanted nothing more than to ignore them for as long as possible. Izzy and Tentomon were with Henry Wong's dad working on theories and solutions as to how to solve their current predicament and he'd trusted Izzy to get them out of many a bind before. He'd do so again now.

As for Tai, he was stuck shopping with Mimi while Agumon and Palmon…

"Because, Tai, we left Agumon and Palmon with Seiko, so it's not like they can help." Mimi stopped walking and turned to face Tai, still holding the bags up. "I don't like the looks people give them out in public. The last thing I want is for some extremist whack job to go off their rocker and do something stupid."

Which Tai knew was fair enough, so he really couldn't come up with anything to say in reply. He'd been noticing the looks too. And if that weren't bad enough, they had been mentioned on the news again since their battle against Gallantmon and Rapidmon in Shinjuku Park, though it was just fleeting mentions of seeing other people walking around with Digimon now. Tai sure _couldn't wait_ for that to blow up.

"Besides, when shopping with a lady it's polite for the man to carry the bags. You'll do well to remember that you know." Mimi stated matter-of-factly as she perused over the list she'd written earlier. Seiko had been kind enough to give her a notepad to write down all the things they could think of that they'd need moving into their apartment today. She'd been surprisingly helpful and knowledgeable when it came to current fashion trends, something Mimi noticed was still pretty close to what it was back in their own world.

She and Tai had finished shopping for clothes for the moment – another trip in a week or so would be in order – and so she was looking over what food they'd need to go out and purchase. This was the part Mimi was most excited for. First Tai's mother hadn't let her help cook, then Seiko hadn't let her. Both women claimed that she was a guest and it would be impolite of them to ask her to cook, so despite her objections she sat on the sidelines and wouldn't let up when it came to helping with the dishes.

Tai sighing obnoxiously caught her attention and she flicked her eyes up to look at him.

"I wonder how Sora and Matt are going right now." He whined. A sly grin appeared on Mimi's lips and she looked up at the older teen fully, cocking an eyebrow.

"They're probably both sad that they missed out on shopping with yours truly," Mimi laughed.

"Yeah, something like that," Tai murmured. He neglected to tell her about the straws, instead he strained his best smile.

Mimi glanced at the notebook in her hands once again, tapping on the page with her pen absentmindedly. She looked up and spun on her heel, gazing across each of the shops around them to see if any of them had what they required. Then she zeroed in on a completely irrelevant store and Tai's worst fears came to light. Like an arrow from a bow Mimi took off towards a store advertising a seventy-five percent off sale.

Her low heeled shoes _click-clacked_ across the ground and she drew closer and closer to the store. The next thing she knew her new large white jumper spotted with pink hearts and a black high-heeled shoe was strangling her. When she spun around to see what had happened, Tai was still holding on to the neckline of her jumper with a downcast look on her face.

"Tai, let me go!" She commanded.

Tai let out a deep sigh, "Mimi, does that store even have any relevancy to anything we need?" Suddenly she wasn't interested in meeting Tai's eyes and he had his answer right there. "Come on, I'm hungry. Let's get some food," he suggested.

"But look!" Mimi pointed a delicate finger at all the bright sale signs, "Look at the sale Tai!"

Tai just shook his head and let go of her jumper. "No way." He spun on his heel and began to walk off, bags in tow.

"Where are you going?!" she called after him.

"To get food! You can either join me or carry anything else you buy on your own!" He called back over his shoulder. Tai knew the last part would get her moving. There was no way she'd carry her own bags if she could get him to do it, _especially_ since it was a big sale happening.

He was right. Before he knew it, Mimi was at his side. She was grumbling and looking at him through irate irises, but she had joined him nonetheless. He did what he could to stop the triumphant smirk from appearing on his face, the last thing he'd want to do was fuel the fire right now. He'd won and that would be enough for now.

The two walked side by side through the shopping complex and every time they passed a restaurant or a food stall, Tai's stomach just wasn't in the mood for what was being sold. Much of this was to Mimi's chagrin seeing as though they eventually left the shopping centre entirely and hit the streets. She couldn't recall when, but at some point on what seemed like an aimless wander, Tai's stomach led them to a McDonalds. She had refused to go in to begin with, American McDonalds had put her off the fast food joint for a long time, but Tai had insisted and pretty much dragged her in despite being weighed down by the shopping bags.

So now she sat across from him on the upper level of the fast food restaurant, watching in both disgust and amazement as he began to wolf down two large burgers. When he caught her eyes he raised an eyebrow at her. Mimi shook her head when he pushed his fries over to her.

"You gotta eat something," he insisted.

With no plans to eat them, she grabbed the fries reluctantly. "I don't know how you can eat so much of this stuff," she admitted, shaking her head again.

"Just eat them." Tai ordered. Mimi pursed her lips tight and glared at him.

Then Tai did something only Tai would have the guts to do.

With a click of his tongue he grabbed two of the fries in his hand and with the other he pinched the sides of Mimi's cheeks, forcing her mouth open. He then put the fries in her mouth and worked his fingers, forcing her to chew them. Supressing the laughter that was building up in her throat at the big idiot, she swallowed the food and bat his hands away with the back of her hand.

"Alright, alright. I'll eat them. But if I begin to let go and get fat from eating this it's your fault entirely," she warned.

"Deal." Tai smiled. He picked his burger back up and opened his mouth wide, taking most of it into his gaping maw.

"That is so unattractive…" Mimi mumbled, watching in what she considered to be both awe and – again – disgust. How did someone even open their mouth that wide? It was almost as if a scene from an anime was playing out right in front of her eyes. That thought reminded her of something though, something that Tai was supposed to remind her of. Of course the idiot forgot though.

"Speaking of attraction; you and I need to talk."

The food in Tai's throat at that moment seemed to expand and catch in his throat, preventing him from breathing. Coughing and spluttering he dropped the food in his hand and beat his fist against his chest. Rolling her eyes Mimi leant forwards and thrust Tai's drink into his hands.

After he drained the beverage Tai was finally able to breathe again. Mimi sat back in her seat and crossed one leg over the other, her arms over her chest. She had to admit that she was pretty offended and somewhat hurt now, even if she understood that he was just making assumptions.

"Wow, what a way to react. Way to make a girl feel good, Tai," she said sarcastically. "No wonder Sora doesn't even know you like her."

Tai's eyebrows shot up to his hairline. He leaned forward on one elbow. "Say what?"

"Come on, don't try to even play it off. You totally like Sora, right?"

Tai averted his gaze from the bearer of sincerity. "You don't know what you're talking about."

Mimi put some fries in her mouth and chewed them forcefully to distract herself from getting angry at the stubbornness that she knew Tai was about to succumb to. _Great_. Now he had her pre-emptively stress eating. There'd be payback in the future for this. Luckily, she knew the one word that seemed to be kicking him lately.

" _Taichi Kamiya_ , you answer me right now." He flinched at the mention of his full name. At first she'd called him 'Taichi' by accident, and every time after that she'd noticed that it seemed to have some sort of control over him. Mimi couldn't be sure if he'd noticed or not, but either way it worked and she wasn't going to stop doing it any time soon. Perhaps she'd tell Sora for future reference.

"Even if I did, what does it even have to do with you?" Tai asked. Mimi frowned and let her chin rest in the palm of her hand, her elbow back to the edge of the table. She looked away from him for a moment and answered.

"Because it hurts," before Tai could raise a brow or question her, she continued, "it hurts watching you two dance around each other all the time. You really have no idea how painful the two of you are. You're two of my closest friends, _but seriously!_ I lived in America for the past six years and I could _still_ see it."

"What I want to know," Tai polished off the last of his burger before continuing, "is why you even think that I do."

Mimi smiled. It was _that_ kind of smile. The one someone couldn't resist pulling when a person fell into some sort of elaborate trap they'd set up. Now, Mimi's trap wasn't elaborate or complicated per se, it was rather simple. Cunning to a degree.

"Because this whole time you've only tried to push the conversation away. You haven't denied liking her."

Tai sat back in his chair, knotting his brow in thought. Nah, he'd totally denied it. Hadn't he? He'd told her that she didn't know what she was talking about… But that wasn't strictly a denial.

 _Shit._

He slumped further in his chair, sinking deep into it and hoping dearly that he'd just melt through it and away from Mimi's honey eyes with the wicked glint. "You tricked me," he murmured.

Mimi shrugged lightly and giggled. "I can't help that I'm cunning."

"That's one word for it…" Tai grumbled. "Speaking hypothetically here, _if_ I had a crush on Sora, why do you and I need to talk about it?"

"Do you remember back on the roof of Tokyo Metropolitan?"

Tai nodded. It had only been a few days ago when Janyuu and Shibumi had done what he labelled techno babble to bring Sora, Biyomon, Izzy, and Tentomon to the real world. Or this real world at least. After Sora collapsed Mimi had practically threatened him… _Oh, that's probably what this is about,_ he realised.

"I guess this is that talk you wanted to have then?" he asked for confirmation.

"Tai," she began sternly, all the confirmation he needed, "If you like Sora then you should just ask her out already."

"It's not as simple as that," Tai replied.

"How isn't it?" she shot back.

"It just isn't."

"You can't wait around and put it off forever, Tai. If you don't step up and tell her that you like her then someone else sure as hell will. They'll take that chance away right out from under you and you'll have to be okay with that."

Tai looked at her questioningly, "Like who?"

Mimi clamped her mouth shut. She really couldn't answer that question. Well, that wasn't entirely true, she had her suspicions that Matt also liked Sora. That was something she definitely couldn't tell Tai. She knew that if either one found out the other liked Sora then they'd treat it as some sort of competition and in get carried away, ignoring what Sora wanted as a result. That was of course if Matt even liked her, she couldn't be sure when he kept his cards so close to his chest in that regard.

"Anyone else that could develop a crush on her," she answered instead. Tai considered it for a moment, then he looked back to Mimi.

"That doesn't change the fact that we've been friends for so long." He shook his head a little. "You gotta remember, I've known Sora longer than I've known anyone else. We've been friends since soccer camp, a while before we all went to the Digital World together.

"If I ask her out and she says no then it could make things really weird between us. The last thing I'd want is to screw things over with her. I've done that a few times before." He laughed nervously and Mimi managed to smile at that.

"Like the time she got mad because you brought her a hair clip?" She suggested, trying to uplift his mood.

"Yeah…"

"Or the time you threw up in her hat?"

Instead of laughing at the old memory Tai shot her a dirty look. "I can't believe you told her that I did that."

"She was about to _put it on!_ What did you expect me to do?" Mimi raised her hands in defence. Still seeing that Tai's face hadn't left its scowl she smiled sympathetically. "I understand that there's a lot at risk when you like someone that you've known for most of your life but you need to tell her _sometime_ , Tai. You can't just sit around and do nothing because one day you're going to lose that chance and then there'll be nothing you can do about it but sit and wonder what might've happened.

"Don't you think it'll be better to admit your feelings to her and get things out in the open instead of sitting back and not being a part of the reason why she's happy?"

Tai didn't reply. He shifted to cast his gaze out of the window and tossed Mimi's words around in his head. He couldn't remember how long he'd been sitting back and wondering what it'd be like to date Sora. How long had he been feeling this way for his best friend without saying anything?

Not that that was entirely true. He had asked her to Matt's concert two years ago and she had shot him down, but had she known that he was confessing to her? Did she just think he was asking her if she were free? Either way it didn't change the fact she'd been backstage to see Matt at the time and she was hoping to spend the time after the concert with him. Not that anything came from that due to the Digimon attacking.

So had she known that he was trying to confess to her? Did she only ask him if he were mad because she felt bad for blowing him off? Now that he thought about it, he had just taken that night for what it had seemed like to him at face value and given up.

"I can help you get with Sora if you want?" Mimi spoke up. Tai looked back to her with his eyebrows raised, her smile grew and she flicked the curls of her hair over her shoulder.

"Why would I need help?" Tai questioned.

Mimi leaned across the table and punched Tai in the arm. "When a girl faints, you pick her up and carry her to a place where she can rest. _Especially_ if it's the girl you like, Tai. If you can't even do something as simple as that for Sora then how do you suppose you'd successfully ask her out?"

Tai laughed. "So that's why you got mad on the roof." She nodded. He supposed she had a fair point. While he had rushed to her side he just let Matt pick her up and carry her down into the building, something that he should've done in hindsight.

"I was just surprised and couldn't react quickly enough." He tried defending himself but Mimi wasn't having it.

"Yet you could react fast enough to start an argument with Matt?" She had him there. "Don't worry, I'll kick you into gear and before you know it you and Sora will be together and happy and all that jazz."

Tai scoffed, crossing his arms bemused. "What are you? Some kind of love doctor? Last I checked you had the crest of sincerity, not love."

With a curt laugh Mimi winked at him and flashed her fingers at him in a 'V' shape. "I could be a love doctor for you and Sora if you do one favour for me in return. I'm not going to do this for free after all."

Tai sighed. He had an inkling of what she was going to ask and the thought of it certainly wasn't entertaining. "I'm not going to be your shopping slave." He glanced down at all the bags sitting at his feet. If he had to carry this amount every time she wanted to go shopping he swore he'd go to the Digital World and hide out inside Whamon.

Mimi poked her chin softly with her pink painted nail and smirked. "Two things," she reaffirmed. "I hadn't thought of it until you so kindly offered, but you've got to be my shopping buddy from now on."

Tai threw his head back and groaned. He'd told her so many times in the time that she'd been back in Japan that he wouldn't be dragged out every time she wanted to go shopping and each time she ignored him. He obviously wasn't going to win this. "Fine."

"Secondly," Mimi paused and glanced out the window. "You have to say out loud that you like her."

Tai looked around at the other people gathered in the fast food chain and was instantly apprehensive. She couldn't really expect him to just exclaim something like that here and now. "I'm not going to do that, Mimi."

Mimi's lips quirked upwards. "Trust me, Tai. It's the first step to getting her. This whole time you haven't specifically said that you like her and, trust me, when you do you'll feel so much better."

Tai exhaled deeply. It couldn't hurt to just humour her. "I, uh… I… like Sora."

Mimi shook rolled her eyes and made a rolling movement with her hand, encouraging Tai to try again. He took another breath to prepare himself, squared his shoulders and spoke confidently and sternly.

"I like Sora."

Mimi made to clap her hands in congratulations for Tai but jumped when a two beeping sounds in tandem startled her. Both Tai and Mimi pulled out their D-Arcs and a holographic compass appeared on Tai's. It swung around indecisively for a few seconds until it caught on to the digital signature of the Digimon appearing.

She looked up at Tai and they both knew what had to be done. Henry had made it clear to them what this warning system meant for them.

"We have to get Palmon and Agumon as quickly as we can." Mimi said.

"Let's go." Tai stood up, grasping the bags in his hands and turning to run out of the restaurant with Mimi hot on his heels.

* * *

Sora, Biyomon, Matt, and Gabumon followed Rika and Renamon into a thick white fog. Renamon had explained on their run to the site of the bioemergence exactly what the fog did. Sora had wondered what Izzy's reaction had been when he'd found out, and that thought had entertained her until they'd arrived.

They slowed down when they made it to the fog to avoid tripping. Rika pulled on a pair of blue tinted sunglasses when they entered and when Sora's eyes began to sting a little she quickly came to realise the purpose of them. Suddenly Takato wearing goggles seemed like less of a fashion statement and more out of practicality and necessity.

When Rika guessed that they were somewhere near the centre of the fog she stopped their progress and looked around in all directions. Finding nothing with her eyes she clicked her tongue. Renamon turned to the two DigiDestined and their partners.

"Be on your guard," she said. "I feel a powerful presence here."

Sora felt a tug on the hem on her shirt and looked down to Biyomon who had a stern look in her keen eyes. "I can feel it too Sora."

"If my fur were attached to my body then it'd be standing on end," Gabumon spoke up, a shiver rolling down his spine.

" _Soul Predator!"_

At the call of the attack, a horizontal blast of purple energy sailed towards Rika from out of the fog. Renamon's quick reflexes acted faster and she just managed to tackle Rika to the concrete in time to avoid getting sliced in half by the blast.

The redhead looked up from under her partner to Matt and Sora. "Keep an eye out, that attack came outta nowhere." She ordered as Renamon helped her to her feet. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it." Renamon nodded.

A shrill cackle resounded from everywhere within the fog and the six bodies gathered whirled around in search for the source. Biyomon was the first to spot it, her eyesight rivalling that of Renamon's in the fog that was now slowly beginning to recede. She called out a warning and the others turned to look at the emerging figure.

It was larger than Matt, who stood at six foot tall, and had no lower body. Instead there was a glowing purple orb cackling with similar coloured electricity inside. It was like one of those orbs Sora had seen at a museum once when she was a little girl. Its upper body was just a skeleton, its ribs holding a solid red crystal in place. Like the lack of a lower body, it also had no arms, the purple electricity connecting its hands to its body. In its hands it held a long black staff that was thicker at the ornament at the top and thinned out towards the bottom. It wore a large black cloak that was tattered and fluttered in a non-existent breeze, the underside of it was red.

Rika raised her D-Arc and scanned the arrival.

 **Name: MetalPhantomon**

 **Type: Data**

 **Level: Ultimate**

 **Special Attacks: Grave Scream, Soul Predator**

She turned to Matt and Sora. "Digivolve them as high as you can," she said with a nod of her head towards Gabumon and Biyomon.

Matt and Sora pulled out their Digivices, raised them high and their crests glowed under their clothes in reaction to the will of their owners.

Biyomon flew up high into the sky and glowed with a white light. The white light soon erupted into flames and the large bipedal eagle that is Garudamon touched down and took her place in the street. One taloned foot placed in front of Sora, prepared to protect her. At the same time, Gabumon was enveloped with a white light and phased right through the form of Garurumon and into WereGarurumon.

Behind his partner, Matt clenched his fists in frustration. Yet again they weren't able to go mega. Was there some reason why? Were he and Gabumon out of sync with one another? It couldn't have been something to do with being in a different world, they weren't able to do it in their own Digital World either.

"Biomerge, activate!" Both Sora and Matt were distracted by Rika's voice.

Then Renamon's adding in, "Renamon biomerge to…!"

They watched in awe as the young girl fell back onto her partner. Her body began to pixelate and when the two partner's touched, a bright blue egg-like cocoon encased them. It pulsed and spun and within mere moments a tall shaman woman stood adorned in a black body suit, yellow armour, a matching fox mask, and holding a large golden staff in her hand. The rings at the top of it chimed a little before settling in place.

"Sakuyamon!"

"You don't uh… You don't see that every day…" Garudamon said. Sora wordlessly nodded her agreement.

"Agumon telling me about it was one thing, but seeing it for myself…" WereGarurumon had to pick his jaw up from the ground.

Curious and managing to bring back some level of concentration, Matt managed to scan Sakuyamon with his D-Arc.

 **Name: Sakuyamon**

 **Type: Data**

 **Level: Mega**

 **Special Attacks: Spirit Strike, Amethyst Mandala, Crystal Sphere, Amethyst Wind, Fox Drive, Twin Blades of Beauty and Truth**

"That's one hell of an arsenal," he noted the amount of attacks she had.

"Are you entirely sure that you want to put up a resistance against me?" MetalPhantomon asked, twirling his cane around in his bony fingers.

"Resist you?" Sakuyamon voiced. Sora could make out the separate voices of both Rika and Renamon, yet together coming from the mouth of the shaman Digimon they sounded like one.

"I could make this all very quick and very easy if you just stand still and let me kill you." He said. The permanent smile his skull gave him suddenly seemed so much more malicious.

WereGarurumon growled. "You make it sound as if you came here specifically to hunt us," he lowered into a defensive stance in front of Matt, crouching slightly and getting ready to leap at a moment's notice.

MetalPhantomon laughed, the shrill sound sending chills right down to the core of those around him. "At least you aren't totally stupid. Yes, I'm here specifically to kill you."

"We haven't even done anything," Sora managed to find her voice, "how is you killing us justified?"

"You want to talk about justification?" If he had eyes, MetalPhantomon probably would've blinked in surprise. "You came here under the assumption that I was just another random Digimon coming through to the real world and you were going to kill me, maybe even load my data. I ask of you in turn how that's justified?"

Sora's mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water as she searched for words. She clawed and scratched at the depths of her mind but couldn't come up with anything. He was obviously here for some sort of ill intent, but he was right in the fact that they'd come here to destroy him. It was necessary and she understood that, she really did… But…

"Either way," MetalPhantomon said, "the reasons either party has for doing this right now are irrelevant. There's only one outcome allowed from this encounter, and I'm going to be the only one leaving alive."

"Why do you want to kill us? What, do you want our Digimon's data so you can become stronger?" Sakuyamon asked.

" _Please_ , I'm at the height of my evolution. I may only be an ultimate but I'm strong enough to wipe all of the Tamers and the DigiDestined out." The skeletal phantom taunted.

Matt's eyes narrowed. Something didn't feel right about this and it was at the tip of his tongue, he just couldn't place it.

"Then why?" Sakuyamon pressed. "Why come here to fight us if you don't want data and we haven't done anything?"

MetalPhantomon shrugged. "Guess there's no harm in telling you. You see, I was sent here to kill you all not because of what you've done. No. I was sent here because of what you _could do_ in the future. I'm no time traveller, just striking pre-emptively is all."

By now the fog of the digital field had completely settled and there was no other person in sight. Everyone in the vicinity would've fled as soon as it appeared. _Just as well_ , Rika thought.

"What could we do that's so bad that'd make you want to kill us?" Garudamon questioned.

MetalPhantomon sighed. "What could you do that's so bad? You could do _good,_ be heroes. If I told you then you'd just zoom off to go do it, and I can't have that. Now, it's been real but…" He spun his cane out to the side and two blades of crackling energy burst out from the sides to make a double bladed scythe.

" _Soul Predator!"_ MetalPhantomon twirled on the spot and sent two waves of destructive energy soaring towards Matt and WereGarurumon unexpectedly. With little time to get out of the way, WereGarurumon instead turned on his heel and threw his body over the top of Matt to shield him, awaiting the pain that would strike into his back.

" _Crystal Sphere!"_

But it never came. Releasing Matt and standing up, the wolfman noticed a translucent half-sphere summoned around himself and the blonde teen. Sakuyamon off to the side was pointing her staff at the two, the power she was displaying making her long silver hair billow out behind her.

Lowering her staff, and the protective shield with it, Sakuyamon twirled her Vajra Staff. Energy in shades of purple whipped up around her, joined by pink flower petals. Stepping forward and thrusting her staff forward she sent the attack towards the phantom with a call of, _"Amethyst Wind!"_

MetalPhantomon simply laughed and whipped his scythe around with near blinding speed, stopping the attack from coming into contact with him. Garudamon used the distraction to launch forwards into her own attack. Low enough to the ground to avoid damaging cars, she willed her drawn back fist to be coated in flames and threw the readied punch forwards.

" _Phoenix Claw!"_

MetalPhantomon was a lot smaller and agile however and was able to dodge the attack with ease.

" _Wolf Claw!"_

When WereGarurumon leapt towards him from behind for a surprise attack, he managed to just escape before any damage was done. The attack only leaving tears in the back of his cloak. "Well now, that was my favourite cloak. I guess even the heroes are willing to use dirty tricks." He said.

Sakuyamon floated up to his level in the air. Her staff thrummed with violet energy. Garudamon's entire body became coated in flames. WereGarurumon crouched low to the ground, raw power building in his legs in preparation for a sickening kick.

Matt grabbed Sora's arm and led her away from the centre of the street to stand in the doorway of a building. He didn't want to be out there when those attacks collided and he certainly didn't want Sora to be out there either. They knew from experience the kind of shockwave Digimon attacks could cause when they collided. It'd be enough to send them flying down the street if they weren't behind something sturdy.

" _Twin Blades of Beauty and Truth!"_

" _Wing Blade!"_

" _Circle Moon Kick!"_

All three attacks sped towards the phantom, his permanent expression of arrogance about to be wiped clear from his face. Two slivers of violet energy. A blazing fire in the shape of a phoenix. WereGarurumon with a bone-crushing amount of power behind his kick, ready to unleash.

" _Grave Scream!"_

All cancelled out when MetalPhantomon opened his mouth and let out an ear-splitting soundwave. Unable to concentrate on flying, Garudamon and Sakuyamon dropped to the ground with a thud, the concrete cracking slightly under Garudamon's size. WereGarurumon was flung back into a building. Windows cracked and concrete fell to the ground alongside his limp body.

Sakuyamon heaved air into her lungs, trying to support herself on her staff as she tried to stand. The ringing in her ears was almost unbearable. A blunt force slammed into her ribs and sent her flying into the large form of Garudamon. Both of them groaned in pain.

MetalPhantomon laughed, floating over to the form of WereGarurumon. He was clutching his ears, trying to rid the deafening noise from them through sheer willpower. He readied his scythe for the killing blow.

"Leave him alone!" Matt called out uselessly, running out towards the phantom despite Sora trying to hold him back from danger.

"What he said!" A gravelly yet somewhat feminine voice called out. _"Lightspeed Jabbing!"_

The giant green cactus form in the red boxing gloves of Togemon flew in from the side. She nailed MetalPhantomon with a swift punch and sent him reeling down the street, the momentum from her unperturbed run-up allowing her to throw more power behind the attack.

Matt stopped in relief and looked down where he'd seen Togemon appear from and spotted Greymon approaching with Tai and Mimi over his shoulders.

"Togemon, thank you." Matt said. Not being able to smile or show any real kind of facial expression, Togemon just nodded.

"Sorry we're late!" Tai apologised when Greymon reached them. He and Mimi disembarked from the dinosaurs shoulders, Sora joined them out on the street. " _Princess_ over here decided she couldn't run anymore so we had to ride the digi-express."

"We're just glad you got here." Garudamon spoke, her and Sakuyamon having gotten up from the pile they'd been made out of.

Matt nodded but made his way over to WereGarurumon who was still clutching his head. His eyes were screwed shut and his lips were curled back in a nasty snarl. "WereGarurumon, are you okay?"

"What's wrong with him?" Greymon asked.

"MetalPhantomon used some kind of screaming attack. I think it's having some weird effect on him." Matt tried shaking the wolfman's shoulders to rouse him and get his attention to no avail.

"WereGarurumon has pretty sensitive ears," Sora said, "if that attack hurt us, imagine how he must be hearing it."

Matt clenched his teeth. "You've got to dedigivolve!" He called out, hoping his partner would hear him. Relief washed over him when WereGarurumon flashed momentarily and reverted back to Gabumon. "Are you okay?" Matt crouched down and pulled the reptile into his arms.

"I'm okay, but could you speak up a little!?" Gabumon yelled in response. Matt smiled.

Sakuyamon turned to Tai and Mimi. "You two are going to need to digivolve again. MetalPhantomon hasn't reappeared yet and we need to be ready. He's here for us so it's not likely that he'd run away."

Tai raised an eyebrow. He remembered seeing this Digimon somewhere before, but at first couldn't place it until she spoke again, this time in just Rika's voice. "Don't stand there like goggleheads, just do it already!" Takato had drawn her in his art book. Can't half-tell that she's made partly from Rika.

"Right, Greymon, you ready?" Tai asked, turning to his partner.

"Born ready!" Greymon replied.

"Togemon?" Mimi asked.

"Leave it to me!" Togemon punched her fists together.

Their crests glowing in reaction to their D-Arcs, Tai and Mimi raised the devices towards their partners, ready for them to go ultimate. Just as they both began to glow side by side, a dark laugh resounded and no one was quick enough to stop what happened.

"Not so fast! _Soul Predator!"_

A large wave of purple energy washed over Greymon and Togemon from behind. They both screamed in agony, dropping cold to the ground as Agumon and Palmon. MetalPhantomon swung again for another attack, wasting no time in attempting to finish them off. Sakuyamon managed to pull herself out of her stunned stance and cast a shield over them.

Not having enough time to put any power into it, the skeletal phantom broke through in the first attack. He instantly went in for another but Garudamon tackled him in mid-air and threw him to the ground a few meters away. Sakuyamon followed after to keep him away from those that were vulnerable.

"Palmon!" Mimi cried out, rushing over to the small plant Digimon to see if she was okay. Sora joined her at her side and they both exhaled in relief upon seeing the steady rise and fall of her chest, indicating that she was breathing okay and just out cold.

"Agumon, buddy, speak to me." Tai said softly, cradling his partner's head in his lap.

Agumon's eyes fluttered open and he tried to sit up. The action made pain rack his body and he decided that that wasn't such a great idea and relaxed back into Tai's lap. "Talk about déjà vu," he groaned, "I could've sworn we were fighting Infermon again then."

Tai chuckled. "Yeah, and just like that time we gotta step back and recuperate. We didn't get to do much, but we have to trust in the others now." Agumon nodded and turned his head to see just how the fight was fairing.

Sakuyamon spun out of the way of a slash from MetalPhantomon's scythe and countered with her own swipe of her staff. The phantom let out a hearty laugh. "I have to commend your friends on not dying from the first attack." He said.

Gritting her teeth, Sakuyamon closed in for another bash attack, it was blocked by the staff of the phantom's scythe. Garudamon came in from the side and tried to swat him down to the ground with a flaming claw. MetalPhantomon would've smirked if he could've as he lessened the amount of force he was using to hold Sakuyamon's staff at bay with.

Noticing this, Sakuyamon pressed forward more to veer him into Garudamon's coming attack, but with a deft movement he twisted his scythe so that her staff interlocked against the blade and handle of his weapon. The phantom twisted his body round and as Garudamon launched her attack, MetalPhantomon slung Sakuyamon up and over his shoulder, right into Garudamon's attack.

The flaming claw impacted right into Sakuyamon's gut and she was sent down to the tarmac with a scream. Before Garudamon could ask if she was okay, MetalPhantomon appeared in front of her and launched another attack.

" _Soul Predator!"_ He sent to waves of energy in the shape of an 'X' towards the tribal eagle from directly in front of her. The blast connected right with her chest and sent her flying back into a building. Much like when it happened to WereGarurumon she left cracks in the concrete and windows, but due to the impact of her wings and larger body, most windows that she came into contact with shattered completely.

Admiring his own handiwork at dispatching his enemies, MetalPhantomon lowered himself to the ground where Sakuyamon was struggling to stand. She was worn out and having trouble holding her form. Her ribs hurt from earlier when MetalPhantomon smacked his scythe into her, and now it was even worse after Garudamon's attack. Her armour was beaten and wearing out and her bodysuit now had scorch marks on it.

She heard a faint _whooshing_ sound and looked up just in time to see MetalPhantomon piercing a car with his scythe. He then pulled it back and swung his weapon forward, cancelling out the blades on it and sending the car flying right towards her. Knowing that if she didn't do something quickly she'd certainly be in for a world of hurt, the shaman summoned what power she could.

" _Crystal Sphere!"_

The small shield appeared around her just in time. The silver car impacted against the shield, breaking it and sending Sakuyamon flat on her ass. The car sailed up and over her after the shield burst.

Right towards the undefended group behind her.

For Sora, everything seemed to go in slow motion at the point. She'd run forward in concern when she'd seen Garudamon get slammed into a building, separating her from the others. She watched as the car reached the top of its arc upwards. Then her eyes widened as gravity took effect and the car crawled back down towards the ground.

Right towards her.

It was all she could to do scrunch her eyes, crouch down to the ground and hope to god that she didn't die. That someone would save her. That anyone would do _anything_.

The only Digimon capable of moving did.

Sora waited for the impact. She waited for the inevitable crushing weight to flatten her against the road.

" _Mega Claw!"_

An explosion resounded above her and she continued waiting. It wasn't bad enough that she had to be crushed by a car, but now there was probably going to be something on fire as well. Only… It never came… She heard the impact – no, _impacts_ – of something hitting what sounded like metal.

Sora opened her eyes. Then they opened more.

WarGreymon replaced his brave shield on his back. Crest of courage unscathed on its surface. His emerald eyes flicked down to her and he smiled, then the dragon man took off straight towards MetalPhantomon faster than a bullet.

She wasn't really paying attention when Mimi rushed over to her with Matt and tried to pull her back. They were saying something. Something about Tai but she couldn't be sure. All she could hear was the blood pulsing in her veins letting her know that she was alive.

Sakuyamon looked up when a blur of yellow and orange blew past her, her hair whipping in the tailwind. She turned her head in time to see a WarGreymon barrel right into MetalPhantomon, carrying him down the street and then up into the sky. The two Digimon broke apart and floated there in the vast blue sky. Neither moved. Sakuyamon mustered up her strength and began to fly up to join WarGreymon in the fight. As long as she and Renamon could, Rika would fight.

"Why are you here?" WarGreymon asked, tightening his grip on his dramon destroyers.

"If I had a dollar for every time one of you asked me that today I'd be one rich Digimon, you know that?" MetalPhantomon replied.

"You know you can stop this?" WarGreymon offered. "You can stop this, go back to the Digital World and forget about fighting us. Things don't have to continue down the road they're going, MetalPhantomon. Someone is going to get seriously hurt if this keeps going."

The phantom chuckled. "That's the plan, dragon man."

"I don't want to have to fight you." WarGreymon shook his head. "If you just quit now we can all leave this unscathed. We'll even help you get back to the Digital World."

"Sorry, but I must decline your offer." MetalPhantomon brandished his scythe once more and rushed WarGreymon. "I've got commands that I'm gonna follow to the grave. Speaking of, _Grave Scream!_ "

He pulled up a few feet away from the dragon man and opened his jaw, sound waves pulsing out from his mouth and threatening to pierce his ear canals. Pushing through the pain in his head, WarGreymon managed to slam his gauntlets together and spin through the air. The blades at the end sliced through the air like a knife through hot butter and as he spun thin flames encircled him.

" _Great Tornado!"_

The tornado that is WarGreymon sliced right through the sound waves and MetalPhantomon just managed to fly up and out of harm's way. WarGreymon spun free from his attack and slashed his claws through the air, waves of searing flames erupting from them.

" _Mega Claw!"_

" _Soul Predator!"_

MetalPhantomon swung his scythe, releasing his own waves of energy to intercept WarGreymon's attacks. The two attacks collided and cancelled each other out in an explosion.

" _Fox Drive!"_

Four foxes of varying colours made from burning flames sped forth from the explosion and barrelled towards the phantom. As they passed out of the explosion, the fire within it merged with their bodies, making them grow in size. If they could've, MetalPhantomon's eyes would've widened as the foxes encircled him and he screamed in pain. His cloak caught fire and he couldn't keep his grip on his weapon, dropping it down to the street below.

"Now!" Sakuyamon commanded, prompting WarGreymon into action.

" _Great Tornado!"_

Spinning once again into the fiery vortex, WarGreymon barrelled towards the still shouting phantom with blinding speed. They had their opening and they had to utilise it as quick as possible. MetalPhantomon tried to struggle free from the blazing fox spirits to no avail, and when WarGreymon's claws came into contact with the red crystal on his chest it shattered into data. Immediately the screaming and the struggling stopped and the phantom burst into thousands of data fragments.

From below, Sora winced slightly seeing his death. Even after so long it could still be a tough thing to look at. The light of Garudamon degenerating back to Biyomon was a welcome distraction. The bird Digimon flew over to her, landing clumsily in her arms from exhaustion.

"Are you okay, B?" she asked tenderly.

"Just really tired is all…" Biyomon moaned.

It was then that WarGreymon and Sakuyamon touched down near the group. In an instant Sakuyamon split into Rika and Renamon. Everyone looked up to WarGreymon curiously. The same question was on everyone's mind, but no one wanted to speak up just yet. There had been something different about the dragon man Digimon. He seemed more powerful than he'd ever been. And his voice…

"Uhh, how long are you guys going to stare at me?" he questioned, rubbing the back of his neck through his red hair.

That was the difference. It was no longer just the gravelly deep voice of WarGreymon anymore. No. Now it was accompanied with the familiar voice of a certain wild brown haired teenager, speaking in perfect unison. It was unusual to hear him talk that way, in two voices at once, but like when hearing Rika and Renamon speak through Sakuyamon it just sounded _right_.

"Tai?" Matt was the first to speak after a long, drawn-out silence.

WarGreymon turned his head to look at him. "What?" Tai's voice spoke only now.

"Agumon?" Biyomon asked.

"What's up?" WarGreymon turned to look at her, speaking only in WarGreymon's voice.

"Oh god," Mimi sighed, "this is really going to get confusing."

Flashing with the familiar light, WarGreymon separated and Tai appeared sitting on the cracked tarmac, Agumon sitting between his legs. Both man and 'mon had large smiles on their faces. Neither could even begin to think of describing the feelings and emotions running through them at the current moment. Agumon resorted to jumping into Tai's arms and the two exploded into proud laughter.

"Well what do you know?" Renamon murmured. Rika nodded her agreement.

* * *

 **Author's Note: _not much I really want to say about this chapter other than apologizing for how long it took this chapter to come out. I know the ending there kind of drops off suddenly, but don't worry, that's intentional. Further light will be shed on what happened afterwards next chapter so stay keen!_**

 ** _Also trying out a new way to display the Digimon Analyzer stuff. I'm not sure why, but I just feel like it's better this way than having the characters actually saying it within quotation marks. What do you think?_**

 ** _Anyways! Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, especially the first major Taiora stuff with Tai talking to Mimi and also managing to biomerge to WarGreymon to save Sora from being crushed. Wuite obvious why it was titled 'Courage' this time around, huh? Believe it or not, that's not even because Tai and Agumon biomerged, but because of Sora's lack of and doubts towards killing Digimon. Hopefully the fact that MetalPhantomon wanted to harm them will ease her mind a little._**

 ** _Okay, so I guess I did have a_ bit _to say after all. Leave a review and tell me what you thought! :) If you haven't already, check out the first chapter to my new medieval AU story titled 'Inventionibus'._**


	12. Aftermath

_**Tales of the Tamers: Act 1  
Chapter 11: Aftermath**_

* * *

 _ **Shinjuku**_

 _Knock-knock-knock!_

Matt rapped his knuckles on the wall, growling in frustration as he did so. "Mimi, hurry up! You've been in there all morning and the rest of us have to use the bathroom as well!" It garnered no reply from the teenager within, who could be heard humming sweetly to herself.

From his place in the living room, Tai snickered. "Matt, you're pretty enough, you can just use your phone as a mirror if you really need to look at yourself that badly."

Matt's head poked around the corner of the hallway and his eyes shot daggers at Tai. "Some of us prefer not to go to school with our hair looking like a birds' nest." Even though Matt retreated back around the corner, Tai still had to rile him up just a _tad_ more.

"I don't even understand why you need to style it at all. All your hair does is hang down in front of your face like some early two thousands scene kid from America or one of those other white countries. Australia, even." Tai shrugged, turning his attention to the two other occupants in the room with him.

"I can't help but feel that that statement was racist to some degree…" Izzy frowned, shouldering his carrier bag onto his back.

"Either way, if those two don't hurry up we're going to be late on our first day." Sora sighed. She cast a glance to the hallway and back, shifting her weight from foot to foot.

Tai shot her a despairing look. "Geez, Sora, you make it sound like it's going to count towards your grade or something. It's not like school in this world is going to affect how you've been going back home."

Sora folded her arms across her chest and shook her head. "I like to make good impressions, Tai."

Though he opened his mouth to respond, Tai was interrupted when Matt's cry of relief sounded from the hall. "Finally!" With that the door was slid shut forcefully and Mimi's humming moved into the living room, the young girl dressed in the uniform of Shinjuku Yamabuki High.

Looking at her, Tai raised a brow. "What were you even doing in there? You look exactly the same as when you walked in."

Mimi's humming stopped dead. "I'll have you know," she began.

Sora and Izzy sighed.

"That it takes a lot of effort to look as beautiful as I do. Not everyone can just wake up, throw on clothes and walk out the door and be completely fine with looking like a hobo, Tai. Unlike you, I like to actually make an effort." With that, she flipped her hair over her shoulder with an air of finality.

"Looks like the effort was wasted to me…" Tai mumbled what he thought was inaudibly. Mimi punched his shoulder and Sora couldn't bring herself to intervene, it was too early for Tai and Mimi. She needed caffeine.

"So everyone remembers the meeting today?" Izzy asked quickly in a bid to change the topic.

"Yep, meet you on the soccer fields of the school at lunch time." Confirmed Sora with a nod.

"Great. Mr. Wong and Shibumi haven't updated me on much after initial tests were run last night, but hopefully something develops today by meeting time." Izzy then made his way out of the apartment to begin his walk to HYPNOS, leaving the others to wait for Matt to finish dolling himself up.

As soon as the front door was shut, Mimi walked over to it and slumped against it with a huff. Her lips pouted and arms folded across her chest. "I can't believe he's ditching me to go do nerdy stuff." She whined. Sora offered her a sympathetic smile.

"You know he's just really excited and wants to help figure this entire situation out, especially after yesterday."

Mimi understood. Of course she understood. Didn't mean she had to like it though. It was then that Tai approached too as Matt exited into the hall.

"If it makes you feel any better, at lunch instead of sitting with strangers you can come outside and sit with us. Get a feel for what it's like to sit with the cool kids for a change." Tai beamed, clapping a hand on her shoulder.

"I'll have you know I sat at the cool table in America as well." An indignant Mimi responded, turning on her heel and yanking the door open.

"Whatever you say, Mimi." Matt joined in with a dismissive wave. They all left the apartment, a dutiful Sora remembering to quickly check that she had the key to the apartment and that the door was safely locked. After all, they wouldn't want someone breaking in and stealing all of their many possessions that they totally had inside.

"I did!" Mimi protested. Tai and Matt shot each other disbelieving looks.

"How sad…" Tai sighed.

"She's in denial…" Matt sighed.

"Alright, you two, how about we stop picking on Mimi now? We have a big day ahead of us." Sora suggested softly, linking arms with the honey haired teen and walking ahead of the boys.

"I like it better when you two are fighting." Mimi grumbled.

How right Sora would be.

* * *

They had seen him that morning.

In all honesty, Takato hadn't once thought about how it would affect _him_.

Though a part of Takato hated himself for even acknowledging it, he had completely forgotten about Kazu with everything that had been happening recently. Between the Parasimon invasions on Rika's birthday, to Tai and his friends appearing in their world, and with MetalPhantomon appearing yesterday, all thoughts of reconciling with his friend had been pushed to the back of his mind. It made his heart ache, how could he even begin to think how the reappearance of even more Digimon would have an effect on him?

On Jeri? On Kenta? He was sure they'd have heard about everything going on too.

Certain – more hoping – that Miss Asaji wasn't paying attention to him in that moment, he took his own quiet reprieve to think, his head slumping down onto his open book, the place he was supposed to be taking notes.

The memory was still fresh in his mind.

Tai, Matt, Sora, and Mimi had met up with him, Rika, Henry, and all their Digimon at Shinjuku Park that morning. They had all agreed – and by that they meant HYPNOS had decided – that it would be better if all their Digimon weren't too crowded in their apartment until the older group got themselves in order, so they'd stayed in Guilmon's old shed overnight. He'd been excited, there was no two ways about it, another group of kids with Digimon were around and it seemed like all the events that had started were about to pick up speed.

 _Then they ran into Kazu._

 _Henry had been the first to see him. Takato had bumped into the blue haired Tamers' back, cutting off his conversation with Tai and Matt to ask Henry what was wrong._

 _He heard him before he saw him._

" _You've gotta be fuckin' kidding me…" Kazu's voice had been no louder than a whisper carried on the wind, yet in Takato's head, he may as well have been screaming. His nerves rattling his body, Takato stepped to the side to look at the other teen, but his heart dropped at the sight of the look on Kazu's face._

 _A whole storm of emotions flashed across it. Hurt. Longing. Betrayal. Anger. Just a few that Takato managed to pick out while Kazu's hands clenched and unclenched continually by his side in a feeble attempt to rein himself in._

 _At a complete loss as to what to say or do, Takato's gaze shifted to Guilmon, the saurian's ears wilting as he let out a soft mewl of sadness. He looked to Henry, who seemed to be at just as much a loss as he was himself, and for once Terriermon kept his mouth shut. Renamon stood stoic, looking at Kazu with an emotion that Takato couldn't quite discern, it looked almost akin to pity, but he couldn't be sure._

 _Rika was avoiding his gaze completely, shifting her eyes to Takato for a brief second as if to plead for the heavy air that settled over the group to dissipate. Even Tai and his friends didn't say a word, though it was mostly due to confusion at the turn their morning had taken. Sora and Biyomon exchanged a nervous glance when Takato took a few tentative steps forward, his mouth opening and closing and he clawed the depths of his mind desperately for something to say._

" _Kazu…" his mind was drawing up a blank and he wondered if he'd been told a few years ago how things would turn out between him and someone he called his best friend, he would've laughed and said that nothing could alienate him from his friends._ How naïve am I… _he thought solemnly. "Are you…?"_

" _Am I what?" Kazu cut him off with a sharp snap. Takato missed the wince of regret that flashed across his face at his own tone. "Am I okay? Is that what you were going to ask?" It was too late to take the venom out of his words now as he felt himself fall into a black hole inside himself._

 _At the obvious hurt in his tone, Takato could only take a half-step back._

" _It's bad enough that you three parade your Digimon around," Kazu's voice was rising as he pointed an accusing finger at Takato, then Henry, then Rika in turn. Each of them avoiding his piercing gaze, all of a sudden unable to look him in the eyes. "But now these new assholes get Digimon and you're suddenly best buddies?"_

" _Kazu, it's not…" Takato tried to think of a way to reason with him. He was beginning to get frustrated with himself at not being able to collect himself. Kazu's nostrils flared as his temper rose even more and his brow furrowed. How could he even begin to explain the situation to him if he was sure Kazu wasn't going to listen?_

" _Not what I think? Boy you're just belting out the cliché excuses today, Takato." Kazu scoffed, his eyes settling straight on Matt as he bent down to trade soft words with Gabumon, never taking his eyes off the confrontation folding out in front of him. "While you guys have fun and get all friendly, why don't you take a moment to remember that some of us aren't so goddamned lucky."_

 _Kazu's voice dropped to a violent whisper at the end, and without another word, he turned on his heel and stormed off. For the second time, Takato could only watch him walk away…_

With a soft groan Takato managed to pull his head up from its resting place on his book, offering Henry a weak smile when he looked to him with concern written across his features. The lines of deep thought creasing his forehead didn't escape Takato's notice. Henry hadn't said much since the confrontation this morning.

He was glad that Tai and the others hadn't asked any questions afterwards, he was sure that he wouldn't have been able to bring himself to talk through the lump in his throat. Tai had shot him a sympathetic look that told him that he'd both ask him about it later, but also give him space on that matter. After that the older teen had gone into an almost silent conversation with Matt and their Digimon partners.

What freaked out Takato the most was how… odd...? Rika had acted afterwards. While he had crouched down and attempted to cheer up a depressed Guilmon, Rika had approached him and placed a comforting hand on the small of his back. After he seemingly got through to Guilmon at the promise of especially baked Guilmon Bread, she had gone out of her way to make sure he was okay, making sure he knew that she was there if he wanted to talk about it.

While that in itself wasn't confusing, after all, even Rika openly showed concern for the people she cared about, it was her proximity that confused him. He couldn't ever remember the two of them standing so close together outside of a battle and he could've sworn that her hand lingered on his back for a little longer than she intended. Most of all though… _I could see the sadness in her eyes…_

It was only mid-morning and Takato already felt impossibly drained. He'd much rather return to back when he and his friends aimlessly wandered the Digital World in search of Calumon. He felt more lost now than he ever did back then.

* * *

Come lunchtime, Izzy gazed around the group situated around him. It was as if the very air they were breathing had turned to lead. He and Tentomon shared a despairing look between one another, neither having a clue as to what was wrong with their friends, both new and old. Not one of them seemed to smile and he thought that maybe it was because the situation was finally starting to bear down on them? Did they not expect good news?

With a frown, Izzy couldn't find a logical reason as to why that'd upset Takato, Henry, Rika, or their Digimon. So just what had happened in the few hours since he'd bid his friends goodbye at the apartment earlier? The thousand yard stare in Takato's eyes just seemed so wrong on the young teens face. Never let it be said that Koushiro Izumi wasn't perceptive to the emotions of others.

"Izzy?" At the sound of the slightly mechanical voice, Izzy looked down at his partner. Despite the fact that Tentomon couldn't outwardly display any sort of facial expression, Izzy had learnt to differentiate his partner's mood from his tone of voice and the way he blinked. Right now Tentomon's anxiousness was palpable. "Do you think maybe we should tell them now?"

The trepidation in his partner's body language set him on edge. The information they had gathered at HYPNOS today wasn't good news by any means. That's not to say that it was necessarily bad news either, but the fact they hadn't really found all that much to go on wasn't going to exactly do much to brighten the sombre mood.

Izzy sighed, sucking in a breath. It needed to be done.

"Everyone," he trailed off, waiting for everyone's attention to turn towards him. He opened up his laptop on the grass in front of him, thankful that Henry had informed them of the spot their Digimon hung out during school hours in the grounds so that they could talk in private. It was somewhat uncomfortable to talk about Digimon related matters out in the open in this world, after having to keep them a secret for so long in his own world.

A nod from Tai urged Izzy to continue.

"Do we want to start with something light hearted, or move on to a more serious topic?" Izzy offered, it was the least he could do to give them a choice to get the heavier topic out of the way first if they wanted.

"I think we could all use a little good news?" Biyomon offered, getting a compliant nod from Sora and Palmon.

"Screw that," Matt put in quickly, "if we leave the good news until last then we have something to look forward to hearing." Part of Matt was hoping that the news was some reasoning for them being here in this world, the rational part of him knew it wasn't going to be so quick and easy.

Izzy nodded, wholly agreeing with Matt. The news wasn't anything special, but he at least figured it might lift everyone's spirits a little. Clearing his throat, the redhead opened up a window on his computer screen, pulling up a picture and twisting his laptop around so everyone could see it.

Henry leaned forwards so he could get a better look at it. It didn't look like much, a small container was sitting on a steel bench and inside the clear receptacle he could see a small black ball with blunt spikes jutting out from it. Like the head of a Morningstar. "What is it?" He asked, searching his brain for some shred of recognition.

"I don't know," Terriermon shook his head, "but it doesn't look like the kinda thing I wanna find in my cereal."

"No, you wouldn't." Izzy confirmed sternly, making sure everyone was paying attention. He opened his mouth to explain, but Tai's sharp intake of air caught his attention and his eyes flicked up to meet Tai's.

"Is that what I think it is?" Tai asked. At first he didn't have a clue what it was, not actually seeing the object inside the container at first until he shifted his position. Izzy nodded solemnly, hitting the right arrow key on his keyboard to change the photo. Now the black thing was just sitting there on the bench, not obscured by the container.

"I'm not following…" Renamon admitted, looking to her Tamer for an answer but only getting a short shrug in response from the violet-eyed girl.

"It's a dark spore…" Agumon trailed off. He craned his neck back to look at Tai, wondering what was going through his friends head. Luckily for him, Tai's eyes told him all he needed to know. Tai was worried. Beyond that.

"A dark spore?" Takato echoed, the gravity of the name being lost on him. Guilmon creeped forwards to try and sniff Izzy's laptop, an attempt to sniff out the spore and learn its scent but Takato's gentle hand on his neck reeled him back in.

"Back in our world, dark spores were used with the intent to bring a great evil back from the limbo in between worlds." Izzy recalled, focusing his attention to the six who had no knowledge on what exactly he was showing them. "One of our friends, Ken Ichijouji, was implanted with one, turning him evil until he overcame its power."

"What kind of evil created them?" Henry asked. Izzy shook his head.

"I'm not entirely sure of their origins myself," he admitted, "the end game was for them to feed of the dreams of children to bring MaloMyotismon back from the brink so that he could plunge the worlds into darkness. Initially we were led to believe it was a man named Owikawa who created them."

"But," Gabumon piped up, "Owikawa was possessed by MaloMyotismon for years, and Ken said he remembered having the dark spore for a long time before that, didn't he?"

Izzy nodded. "He did. He never recalled what quite infected him, other than the fact he went to the Digital World when he was really young and was infected with it there."

"So… we're dealing this MaloMyotismon?" Rika asked, not quite having followed along as well as she'd hoped. The irony of a whole Digimon possessing a human deal didn't get lost on her though.

"There's no way!" Mimi cried. "All the DigiDestined on the planet came together to banish him once and for all. If he were to come back again I don't even want to imagine how strong he'd have to be…" she almost couldn't stop the shudder that rocked her spine at the thought of _him_ coming back yet again.

"It's okay, Mimi!" Palmon smiled, "I'm sure MaloMyotismon is gone for good now."

"I agree with Palmon," Izzy held up a hand to placate the brunette, "I think we're dealing with something else here. The HYPNOS clean-up crew found it at the site of the battle yesterday. When I arrived this morning Shibumi was already running tests on it to figure out where it came from. Even with the knowledge Tentomon and I were able to provide him with, we weren't able to figure out anything."

Matt groaned loudly.

"Except,"

He groaned again, wishing Izzy wouldn't lead them on with theatrics like that.

"The code of a Digimon was embedded inside of it."

"What does that mean?" Rika asked, folding her arms across her chest. She took a fleeting glance at Takato, he seemed to be out of it, his eyes glazing over every now and then. For the most part he seemed to be keeping up enough, but the forlorn look in his eyes made her gut tilt uncomfortably. She hated the way that looked on him.

"We're not sure yet," Izzy admitted and his frown etched deeper onto his face. "At most we can guess that the dark spore was used to create MetalPhantomon though, kind of like how Arukenimon created evil Digimon from control spires. Shibumi is still working on it as we speak, and afterwards Tentomon and I are going back to help him. If we could discern the data pattern and give it a physical form then we can see just what the code inside creates. Shibumi informed me that it held an almost identical likeness to his very own code, but there's some abnormalities he couldn't determine just yet."

"Good idea," Tai nodded. While it wasn't the news that he knew everyone had expected – but really, what could they have expected – they had made some ground at least, even if it brought up more questions for them to ask themselves then it did answers. It was certainly better than nothing at all. "How about we get onto this good news then?!" he clapped his hands together, as if it would snap everyone out of their thoughts.

While Tai's loud exclamation got everyone's attention, it was the glint in Izzy's eyes that captured them truly. They watched with baited breath as Izzy shut down his laptop and stood up, even Renamon's head tilted visibly in curiosity. The fact they were situated in a small clearing in a clumping of trees furthered Izzy's excitement, he could continue with his theatrics here, visual aids were always more exciting. He had a PowerPoint set up for this, _but PowerPoint is boring, nobody likes it._

"Takato, if you and Guilmon could come stand here?" Izzy gestured just off to the side. Takato's eyes widened at being called upon, and he and Guilmon exchanged curious looks before the saurian stood up and happily obliged, Takato following behind him. Izzy approached him and whispered into his ear. If Takato wasn't confused before, then he certainly was now, but he decided there'd be no harm in going along with it.

Sharing the plan with Guilmon, and by the wagging of his tail and bright smile he was all too happy to go along with it, Takato whipped out his Digivice. He caught Rika's apprehensive glance and his lips quirked upwards before he fell back onto Guilmon and in a flash of brilliant light, Gallantmon stood tall in their place, his height almost rivalling the trees and his cape billowing ever-so-slightly in the breeze.

"The reason for this being?" Sora asked, but Izzy ignored her for the moment, turning to Tai and Agumon instead and beckoning for them to stand up.

Reluctantly, the two rose to their feet and stood over near Gallantmon at Izzy's request, the large knight looking down at them.

"Tai, I've figured it out!" Izzy's grin was smug.

"That's great!" Tai smiled, equally has enthused despite how lost he was. "Figured what out?"

"The reason you and Matt haven't been able to help Agumon and Gabumon reach the mega level is because the two of you are the missing ingredient." Seeing the confused expression on not only Tai and Agumon's faces, but on the rest of his team, Izzy explained further. "This is the upgrade to our Digivices. After you and Agumon 'accidentally' merged together yesterday, I asked Shibumi for some help in figuring out just what happened. The answer was simple apparently, and it's that our Digivices now function like Takato's."

"So you mean Tai and I have to merge together to become WarGreymon now?" Agumon wasn't able to keep the excitement in his voice quelled, his tone rising in pitch as he spoke. At Izzy's nod, the teen and his Digimon leapt for joy and their sudden excitement spread through the group.

"We call it Biomerging," Henry spoke, standing up. "Why don't you give it a try, see if you can pull it off again?"

Looking down at his best buddy, Tai and Agumon shared determined nods between each other. Reaching into his pocket, Tai fished out his Digivice and looked over its form for a few moments. Not really knowing what it was that he was supposed to do exactly, he closed his eyes and dug deep. He figured his best bet was to search inside himself for his bond with Agumon, and he could feel it. He could feel the burning passion through his body, igniting his soul. He remembered wanting to fight, wanting to get out there and protect Sora in the moment of her exposure. He remembered the warm feeling of Agumon's wishes resonating in tandem with his own.

"Biomerge, activate!"

"Agumon biomerge to…!"

A collective intake of breath passed through the DigiDestined.

"WarGreymon!"

Standing tall alongside the crimson knight, WarGreymon appeared, his large form shouldering some branches out of his way. As the few teens who were stunned by the evolution gathered themselves, Izzy moved in to explain how it was his belief that they all could reach the mega level and that they just had to find the power to activate it within themselves. Gallantmon didn't hear much of it though.

With his height and keen eyes, he could see a larger area of the school. His eyes narrowed straight in on a familiar face sitting across the other side of the soccer fields, his face almost blending in with the people he was sitting with. Again, Takato flashed back to that morning and he grimaced inside the sphere of data.

"Are you okay Takato?" Guilmon asked him privately from within their body. He could feel his Tamers feelings washing over him, and it worried him to no end. He'd been quite successful at picking up his best friends fears in the recent weeks, but to actually be able to feel his emotions as Gallantmon when they weren't distracted fighting was distressing.

 _No…_ Takato wanted to answer. Because he wasn't, at least, he didn't think he was allowed to right now. Here he was, sitting around with his friends and discussing Digimon related matters. Enemies, parallel worlds, fighting, biomerging, and it all made him happy to an extent. Yet there was a hole somewhere inside him that he knew couldn't be filled.

As much as he liked Tai and Agumon and everyone else he'd met recently, and as much as he wanted to help them with their dilemma, he couldn't help but acknowledge that he'd lost sight of the goal he wanted to achieve only a few weeks ago.

For as amazing as it felt to have this group of people getting along and working together towards a common goal, it felt wrong. Rika, Henry, and Takato himself weren't the only Tamers in Shinjuku after all. There was Ryo, Kenta, Jeri, Suzie, Ai and Mako, and Kazu. Yet Kazu's words from this morning echoed in his head.

 _Why you guys have fun and get all friendly, why don't you take a moment to remember that some of us aren't so goddamned lucky?_

Kazu was right. Takato had Guilmon back. Even when the Digimon threat hadn't returned, he'd had Guilmon. Rika had Renamon. Henry had Terriermon. The three of them had their partners but the others didn't. Sure Ryo wasn't anywhere to anyone's knowledge and they'd sadly lost Leomon a long time ago, but that didn't change anything. It didn't take away the pain that he realised Kazu must be put through to be the only one still around the Digimon. The only one to still have to be reminded every other day that Guardromon was somewhere that wasn't by his side.

"Not really…" Takato sighed, he and Guilmon separated in a flash of light. He crouched down and scratched Guilmon behind the ears, smiling softly at him when his partner leaned into his hand, enjoying the ministrations on his scales. "You mind waiting here with the others for a sec while I go do something?"

"Where are you going?" Guilmon asked, tilting his head.

"I just gotta go do something, okay?" Takato offered him another smile, and with a slightly wary look in his eyes, Guilmon nodded and hopped over to where Henry and Terriermon were listening to a conversation between Izzy and the large crouched form of WarGreymon.

As Takato made his way out of their usual spot, he was stopped by a hand lightly grabbing a hold of his wrist. He looked up into the worried eyes of Rika and his brain spun, her eyes asking the question that her voice couldn't manage.

 _Where are you going?_ She'd seen the look in his eyes all day this morning, and tough she didn't want to hazard a guess, she knew what he was about to do. After knowing the gogglehead for so long he became predictable in times like these.

"I have to go talk to him," Takato murmured, deciding to look at her where her hand held his wrist, her pale skin standing out against his tanned. For some reason, he felt that if she were to try and convince him not to, he wouldn't be able to do anything but abide by her wishes from the soft gaze her eyes held. "I gotta do something… anything…"

She didn't like the pleading tone in his voice. Takato had been friends with Kazu for years before any of them ever even dreamed Digimon were real. The two of them and Kenta were almost akin to brothers, despite how much they could annoy one another with their antics and conflicting personalities. To have something tear that apart must've been eating at Takato for a long time. It made her feel guilty for letting things come between Takato and herself for so long.

She knew Takato valued his friends higher than anything else, they were a second family to him, the Digimon included. To have a person he once would've considered family hate him for something out of his control, Rika couldn't imagine. Chewing her bottom lip, she gave his wrist a small supportive squeeze and nodded before letting it go. His crimson eyes flickered to look at hers and he smiled, turning to set off once again.

Rika absently fiddled with her necklace as she watched him go, a silent conversation passing between her and Renamon before the kitsune's presence near her vanished and silently followed the brunet. Turning back to the group she caught Henry's gaze. The corner of her lips tugged down and he offered her an understanding smile. They knew Takato wanted to talk to Kazu, but whether Kazu wanted to talk to him was a different story. If this morning had been any indication, then Rika's concerns on the matter were righteous.

After she had managed to settle herself down with the group once again, taking a place near Guilmon, she drifted in-and-out of the conversations. Between quirks about the others' home world and their world, to how their Digital Worlds differed, to the friends the others had made, she frankly couldn't find herself giving a shit. In no way did she hate any of the new guys, in fact, despite Mimi pestering her a lot her first night here Rika found herself quite liking the prissy girl. It was as much as a surprise to herself as it was Renamon when she'd told her. No, it was just that her thoughts were occupied on Takato and Kazu.

She busied herself petting Guilmon so that her suddenly nervous hands had something to occupy themselves with. Guilmon didn't seem to mind so she continued to do it, noting absently how soft his scales were despite the fact she'd seen them brush off all manner of attacks and explosions before.

It wasn't until Renamon appeared in front of her, startling her for the first time since she'd met the kitsune that the bad feeling in her gut returned.

* * *

When had things gotten the way they were? Since when had everything become so strained? Takato couldn't recall at exactly what point in time the Shinjuku Tamers had been split apart from one another, when the rift started to form in their team. Twisting their lives and emotions round and round like a nervous clown juggling balls for the first time before giving up and letting them hit the ground.

That's what it felt like.

Every time he thought of talking to Kazu, every time he saw Kazu, every time Kazu was even _mentioned_ it was like his stomach just dropped to the ground to be kicked by his own feet and trip him up.

Was it when Guilmon, Terriermon, and Renamon came back from the Digital World without Guardromon, Lopmon, MarineAngemon, Impmon, and Calumon? Or was it before that, when Ryo disappeared without a trace and they spent what seemed like forever trying to get into contact with him only to come up with less than they started with? They sure felt like big moments where things were strained between them. The group were strings on a guitar strung too tight, just waiting for the right amount of pressure to applied before – _snap!_

Kazu hadn't snapped and lashed out though, not back then, he'd just simply ignored them one day, like they'd never existed in his life in the first place. On the off chance he did actually make eye-contact with one of them, he'd look the other way or turn and walk in the opposite direction, avoiding them as if they were the plague incarnate.

Perhaps… it was earlier than that? Could it have been when their Digimon had to return to the Digital World after the battle with D-Reaper? It seemed likely. They'd all been brought together by the Digimon, and without that glue to bond them together, they tore apart easier than wet paper. Takato would even hazard to stretch that it was when Leomon was murdered by Beelzemon. That was the first rift.

Just one of many it seemed.

But no more. Takato was sick of walking on eggshells all the time. He'd had enough of that for the duration of time Rika was upset with him. That had put a strain on even the friendship between him and Henry. So why, Takato asked himself, was he able to gather up the nerve to talk to Rika to fix things between them, yet not be able to talk to Kazu about the huge elephant that crops up when they're in the vicinity of one another? They've been friends – or were – almost their entire lives.

Takato supposed that that's a part of the whole problem. Sure, he'll seed to it that Rika, for all the confusion she causes in his brain at even the best of times, has been a big part of his life since he met her. Especially when he first became a Tamer. She went from hating him, to disliking him, to tolerating him, to becoming one of his closest friends and teammates. Of course there was the recent messy business between them, but they'd pulled through!

But from day one, Kazu had been Takato's best friend. Quickly becoming like a brother to him. The kind of guy who'd just be able to walk into the bakery and be invited into the personal living area of the house to hang out without a second thought from his parents. Sure, his mother often thought that Kazu was a terrible influence on Takato, and Kenta too, but they overlooked that because to see Takato with friends as close as Kazu and Kenta made them happy.

That's gone now, and frankly it sucks. Takato hates tripping over his stomach and being nervous around Kazu without the taller teenager embarrassing him, so he'd decided to do something about it. Takato didn't often see the look he saw in Rika's eyes, the last time he can recall is when they all went up against the D-Reaper, but he'd recognised it instantly and he knew she had her doubts about him rushing off to talk to Kazu on simply a wing and a prayer.

What else could he do, really?

Just like he told her, he needed to do this. _They_ need to do this – he and Kazu. They were once important people in each other's lives and Takato won't let anything stop him this time.

Having already marched away with hesitant reassurance from Rika, Takato made his way across the yard to where he saw Kazu sitting with some other students Takato honestly didn't know the names of. All he knew is that they're the usual group outside taking the break as a chance to play some soccer, sometimes he'd see Kazu in the mix.

"Dude, that kid's one of your Tamer pals…"

"Yo, check it out…"

Takato heard mutterings from a few of the gathered students as he approached the table. He ignored them for the most part though, he's not here for them, yet he can't shake them multitude of stares. Takato's painfully aware of the staring from a few of the students interested in his arrival because Kazu hasn't even looked up yet. They're looking at Takato and Takato's looking at Kazu but Kazu's more concerned with looking at everything that _isn't_ Takato.

"Kazu…" Takato tries. No response in the slightest. He tries again, a little more strained this time, "Kazu, come on…" Now some of the attention of all of Kazu's friends, a classification Takato absently notes with a dull pang that he's no longer a part of, has been drawn to the situation unfolding and they're all looking between the two teens, wondering just what's going to happen next. Those who know both Takato and Kazu don't know exactly why they stopped talking and why Kazu suddenly became hostile towards his former friend, so they watch raptly.

"Kazu." His experience with standing up to foes much larger and more powerful than him kick in, and with Takato's voice being deeper since puberty, Takato's tone is strong like that of a father catching their child sneaking into the house past curfew. Inside he's just glad his voice didn't betray him because now that Kazu's clicked his tongue in annoyance and finally looked up at him with cold grey eyes his throat has expanded and even breathing evenly is an effort.

"What." The statement is just flat and Takato can't discern any emotion in it whatsoever, he's not even sure if it's a question.

"I, uh… I want to talk to you." His hands fidget nervously and for all the courage he had before it's all Takato can do now to keep his eyes locked with Kazu's and pronounce each of his words clearly.

"Funny," Kazu scoffs, "that makes one of us."

"Look, can we talk privately? Please?" It takes a few moments of hard staring and standing his ground, but Kazu eventually resigns with a sigh, gets up, and starts to walk away so that they can talk without anyone hearing. Takato's pretty sure Kazu only stood up and walked away so that his friends stop feeling awkward at being dragged into what feels like an ensuing argument, but either way Kazu got up so that's a minor win in Takato's book. Though there is some slight grumbling from a few of the more rowdy boys that they won't get to see a good argument, no one follows them.

They walk in silence for a minute until they're no longer within earshot of Kazu's friends before Kazu turns on his heel to face Takato, his brows drawn down slightly into a frown. They're close to the clearing in the small grouping of trees, but as with Kazu's group, they aren't within earshot and the forms of the Tamers, DigiDestined, and Digimon can't be made out clearly. Was the soccer field always this big, or does it just seem longer now that it dawns on Takato that he and Kazu are entirely alone to talk?

"What do you want, Takato?" Kazu asks abruptly.

Takato takes a moment to gather his thoughts, scratching the nape of his neck. "Look, Kazu, I just want to talk about things."

Kazu's eyebrows shoot up his forehead and he looks at Takato with obviously feigned bewilderment. "You wanna talk about boys? Go and get ice cream then go back to your place and have a pillow fight? Braid each other's hair? We can read girly magazines and talk about our feelings and paint each other's nails?"

Not knowing why Kazu's suddenly on a rant to undermine the situation, Takato takes a step forward with his palms splayed outwards. "Kazu, stop… I just want to talk about everything that's happening."

"That's bullshit," Kazu says and crosses his arms over his chest, "you and I have nothing to talk about. So say whatever piss-poor crap you needta and get outta my face."

"What's the big deal? You're not even giving me a chance!"

"Why in Hell would I need to give you a chance? A chance to what, Takato?" Kazu's body is stoic. Unmoving. A gargoyle watching with unblinking eyes of cold stone.

Takato admits silently to himself that this is probably the first time that he's ever felt – unsafe, for lack of a better word – around Kazu. His stomach is flipping and twisting and turning and he's pretty sure he can hear his voice tightening before he even has a chance to actually speak but Kazu's waiting so he swallows hard and tries to moisten up his lips. "I-uh…" Takato clears his throat, wondering where his earlier stern voice had run off to. "I know it's gotta be hard with the DigiDestined and their Digimon around…"

Kazu's entire body twitches like he'd just been zapped by static electricity like a cat bristling when threatened. His eyes widen for a solid, tense few seconds that hang heavy in the air. It swirls and thickens and it feels like its bearing down on Takato's shoulders testing his resolve to see that he wants this. Then Kazu's eyes return to their narrowed state but his hands drop by his sides, fingers clenching and unclenching slowly as the other teen tries to reign himself in.

"So not only did you go and find a bunch of people to _replace_ us, but you gave yourselves a _new name_?" Unlike before with the apathetic tone to his voice, and then with the mocking sneers, his voice is raw. Cut deep, right to the bone with pain. Whether that pain is from betrayal or sheer disbelief, Takato can't discern. " _DigiDestined…_ " Kazu says, scowling like he'd just eaten a whole lemon, hating the way the word tastes in his mouth.

Takato opens his mouth but Kazu raises his hand, effectively shutting it with an audible _click_. "Save it, Takato. Whatever you want to say, however many times you've thought you can come up to me and talk about our feelings, just forget it. Right?" Kazu steps closer now, coming nose to nose with Takato and poking his finger into Takato's chest. His voice is low. "I want nothing to do with the Digital World, you hear me? Get it through your skull. I don't know what you said to Ice Queen to get her back into your good graces, but you can be certain that it won't fly with me."

Takato should be intimidated, a small part of him is, admittedly. But there's also anger. Its embers smouldering in the pit of his stomach, the wind from Kazu's words fanning them, giving them the air they need to burn and swell to flare up in a brief blaze that escapes Takato's own lips. He doesn't know it yet, but it brands all their interactions from here on out. Whether it's good or bad, Takato won't know until it happens, but he knows what he said will always linger between them now.

"So that's it? After everything between us, you're just going to give it all up like that? You're going to run away and pretend that you haven't been like a brother to me?" Kazu takes a step back, he doesn't flinch. That's what hurts the most, a blade forged in the flames of Takato's own crying outrage that cuts into his gut and twists. There's rope tied around Takato's chest and it's pulled tighter and tighter with each passing moment. Every word and every movement. "You're just going to ignore people you once called friends? You helped saved _the world_ with us, and now what? Don't back down like a coward! Just talk to me!"

Without warning and faster than a striking snake Kazu lashes forward with a fist and clocks Takato square in the face.

The rope snaps.

So does Takato.

Takato's fist clenches by his side and he lunges forward. Surprised and not expecting the sudden retaliation, Kazu takes another step back, crying out when Takato's fist instead makes contact with his collar bone. Regaining his balance, Kazu ducks down and throws his arms around Takato's waist. He scoops deep and lifts Takato off the ground before the two topple on top of each other with a cry of pain. Kazu is the first to recover, he sits atop Takato with his knees on either side of his waist and pulls his fist back in preparation for another blow.

Takato reaches up in an attempt to block the fist, Kazu only pulls it further back and grabs onto a handful of Takato's collar and tie to steady himself. Suddenly, there are shouts that are alarmingly close to them and before Takato knows it, Tai's sturdy arms loop under Kazu's armpits and up behind his neck effectively yanking him off Takato's prone form. Kazu struggles to free himself, kicking his legs around but Tai holds tight, proving himself stronger.

Takato clumsily drags himself to his feet. His right cheek flairs in pain and he's sure that he's going to be sporting a nasty bruise from the hit sometime soon. Takato goes to take a step towards a still struggling Kazu but Matt's in front of him now with his hand on Takato's chest shaking his head.

"Just relax, settle down." Matt commands. Taking a deep breath Takato tries to do just that. "You good now?" Takato nods.

Glancing over, he can see that Tai is struggling to haul Kazu away until the younger brunet finally breaks free of Tai's grip. Shooting Takato one last, utterly foul look, Kazu straightens his clothes and walks away. Kazu doesn't look back. When he finally looks away from Kazu's retreating form, Takato takes stock of the group standing around him. Tai is walking over to him, but stops to talk to Matt on his way. Sora and Mimi both have equally worried looks on their faces, Izzy's expression one of confusion and contemplation. Takato can faintly hear Guilmon asking Henry what happened and Henry trying his best to answer the digimon's questions while trying to cast glances at Takato.

Rika is by his side, if she were staring any harder in the direction Kazu disappeared to then she'd be boring a depression right into earth. With an angered huff, she grabs Takato by the wrist and drags him back to where they had been congregated before. Renamon and the DigiDestined's digimon are all in the tree line. Guilmon, Henry, Terriermon and the others are right behind them. When they come to the small clearing Rika lets go of Takato's wrist and spins on her heel to come face-to-face with him.

He flinches at first when he sees the anger burning behind her eyes, mostly because Takato's not quite sure who exactly it's directed at right now. Rika takes a deep breath and holds a hand up as the others quietly file in. She's thankful when the group doesn't crowd around and disperses out. They stay close though. Takato opens his mouth to speak but Rika clamps her hand down on it before any sound can make it out.

"Just…" she doesn't say any more than that. Instead she grabs his chin in the hand that clamped his mouth and tilts his face to the left to get a good look at the purple bruise beginning to form. "Does it hurt?" she asks, drawing her fingers up to lightly touch the spot.

"Y-yeah, a little." Takato winces.

Rika turns his head back and looks into his eyes now. "Just – focus on something else for a while, okay?" Takato glances away but Rika lightly slaps his uninjured cheek to get him to look back at her. "I mean it, we'll figure it out, just not right now."

With a sigh, Takato nods, it seems to be enough for the moment. Takato becomes aware of Guilmon nudging up against his legs and calling his name so he kneels down beside him and scratches at his neck, not quite sure who he's actually trying to comfort right now.

"Izzy and Tentomon left," Tai informs them as he makes his way over, "he said if they find anything else out today he'll let us know so we can get a hold of you guys."

"Thanks, we appreciate it," says Henry.

"No worries," Tai nods. "Hey, Takato, you don't mind if we talk after school do you?" Takato searches Tai's face but only finds an easy smile plastered there, as if he hadn't just had to try and wrangle back a disgruntled friend. _Ex-friend_ _now_ , Takato notes morosely.

Rika casts quick glances between them. "Uh, sure, of course." Takato agrees.

With that, Tai smiles and walks off with Matt and Sora in tow. They all say a quick goodbye to the Tamers and gathered digimon before leaving with the ringing of the bell that cuts off their break. Mimi casts back one last sombre smile before hurriedly following after the others. After a few moments the three Tamers leave the small clearing to return to their classes as well.

Renamon's not sure what's going through Takato's mind, but she can feel the anger and anxiousness coming from Rika and assumes that it's a close enough assumption to make that Takato's feeling at least one of those. Though if she were a betting digimon, she'd be willing to bet he's blaming himself. Her tail swishes sharply from side-to-side.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Alrighty, finally I updated. Sorry about the long wait. Anyhow, not much I'm going to go into here. The interaction between Kazu and Takato felt a little off to me for a long time, and I'm still not quite happy with where it's at but for the life of me I just can't seem to be happy with it. Now, the Kazu stuff is going to hit the backburner for a while, of course he'll be mentioned here and there, but don't expect him to appear in a major capacity until the second Act.**_

 _ **If you have something you want to ask or know, hit me up in a review, or if it's something unrelated to the story shoot me a PM. I always enjoy talking to those that read my stories. If anyone has a story you've written that you'd like me to read then go ahead and give me the name, I'd be happy to return the favour of reading and reviewing.**_

 ** _Strange that no one's brought up Joe or tried to figure out what set Matt off kilter last chapter. Funny that. Oh well._**


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